Elena Gilbert Finds a New Way
by PhildeVenn
Summary: Elena and Damon must create their own path. Can their love survive immortality? They find a way that changes the balance in the supernatural world. (I think the Elena/Damon story rivals any of the great love stories told. The conclusion of Season 4 reached a state of perfection.)
1. Prologue

**A/N – 'Elena Gilbert Finds Another Way' tells how two vampires in love can build a meaningful life together, that is, a meaningful life for an eternal being.**

 **This prologue has been updated, the content has essentially been left alone, however, I decided to lead off by retelling the story of Elena and Damon at Murder House, and Elena's first experience with Damon learning to "Snatch, Eat, and Erase" that is totally from Elena's perspective with some additions of my own. I should have done this earlier, it's a much stronger beginning. This rearranges the order of Bonnie's story just a bit.**

 **Snatch Eat & Erase**

"Murder House," the banner across the front of the frat house announced. This was the location they were looking for. As if a sign was really necessary, the macabre costumes and the music blaring from within made clear this was their destination. Elena glanced at Damon and Bonnie. Damon was dressed in 19th century formal attire including a top hat. He was supposed to be Jack the Ripper. Bonnie and she were also dressed in 18th century clothing and were supposed to be two of Jack's victims. Elena couldn't help wonder if, by the end of the evening, she found she had more in common with Jack than his victims.

Elena couldn't remember there ever being a time when she was more nervous and apprehensive about her performance as she was this evening. She knew this was really a test, a do or literally die exam. She knew there were three possible outcomes, two of which were disastrous.

First, she could fail to feed at all. She could discover that she couldn't summon the courage, or whatever it took, to choose a victim, compel them, feed on them and then make them forget. Elena knew, if she couldn't do it tonight, she wouldn't be able to, ever. That is, she wouldn't be able to feed until the hunger that had been growing more and more demanding finally overcame her ability to control. Then she would turn into an unthinking animal with only one thought in her being, to hunt, slake her thirst, and kill. Her near miss with Matt had already shown her how close she already was to that point. Elena knew herself well enough that if she crossed that line, she wouldn't be able to come back. She didn't know what she would become, but all connection with the Elena Gilbert that she knew would be gone forever.

Second, she could find that she had already passed the point of having control of her lust for blood and she would kill tonight. That would mean that any connection with the old Elena was already gone and everyone had just been kidding themselves. Of the two outcomes, she actually preferred the latter. The prospect of killing turned her stomach, but at least she would know. She dreaded the prospect of waiting for her hunger to overcome her sanity, yet she doubted she had the will to do what was necessary to prevent it. If she killed tonight, she knew the guilt would be enough to force her to take action. She felt her day ring on her finger. The curse of the sun for vampires was a blessing as well as a curse. She recalled how her mother Isobel died. If she killed tonight, she would end her life and nobody would be able to stop her.

As she considered the possibilities her heart began beating faster and butterflies were forming in her stomach. She already wanted to throw up. If it wasn't for Damon, she would simply turn around, run away, and give up. She would wait for the sun to rise and meet the death she should have had when Matt's truck crashed into the water. Discretely, she glanced up at Damon. She didn't understand why having him there was reassuring, how it gave her resolve, hope. Nevertheless, she knew, if she succeeded tonight, if she fed and didn't kill, it would be because Damon was there watching over her. Knowing Damon was there for her gave her the confidence necessary to lead the way up the steps to the front door. The door opened before anyone could knock.

"Hey, I'm Frankie, unassuming serial killer."

"I'm Jack with two lovely ladies I just rippered," answered Damon.

"Welcome to Murder House, Bloody Marys are free until midnight. Enjoy yourselves," encouraged Frankie.

"Well, hats off to these idiots. Oh, look, professor creepy," drawled Damon doffing his hat in mock salute and then pointing out Professor Shane.

"His name is Professor Shane, and he's not creepy," replied Bonnie indignantly. "I'm going to talk to him."

"You do that," replied Damon relieved to have Bonnie out of the way. As Bonnie walked away, Damon gestured at the crowded dance floor and said to Elena, "Inebriated sleezeballs all covered in blood. C'mon, pick one."

Elena surveyed the crowded room, filled with college boys and girls, mostly drunk, all having a good time. Her heart was beating wildly, her palms damp from nervousness. 'Pick one' he said to her, such a simple statement. 'Pick who might not live to see the next day, go ahead, just pick who your victim will be' is what Elena thought to herself. Then as if by divine intervention, she spotted a guy drop some pills in an unsuspecting coed's drink. What a creep she thought to herself, if anybody deserves this, it's him.

"I think I found one," she said nodding towards the guy she had picked out.

"Roofie guy?" Damon asked. Apparently, he had spotted the same thing she had.

"Hmm Hmm" Elena agreed.

"Nice choice, go get him."

Elena sauntered over towards the guy as he was chatting with the girl, probably waiting for the drugs she was unknowingly drinking to take effect. Elena considered which ploy to use to separate him from the party and get him alone. The horny bimbo act, as Damon so crudely explained this afternoon, was the obvious choice. Elena intentionally bumped into the girl, spilling her drink and then 'accidently' rubbed against the guy, allowing him to inadvertently feel her breast. Then she gave him a warm smile, a slight wink, and a nod towards a back room and said, "I'm sorry, drink?"

Roofie Guy, as Damon had named him was not slow in picking up the hint and stumbled over himself in his eagerness to follow Elena away from the crowded dance floor to a place more private. As they entered the adjacent cloak room, Roofie Guy asked, "Great party, right?"

Realizing that her hunger was about to be satisfied, the anticipation reached a peak so intense, her mouth was actually watering in anticipation. She had no interest in small talk with this guy, she could only manage an affirmative before she grabbed him and pushed him into the wall. It took the last of her self-control to speak to compel him to cooperate, "You're not going to make a sound."

She didn't need him to be still, she had more than enough strength to hold him as she sank her fangs into his neck and drank deeply. Just before she bit him, she saw fear mark his face and it excited her even more. As she gulped his blood eagerly, she was energized with his energy. She felt that nothing could ever be denied her, whatever she wanted she could take. The rush of confidence that filled her was incredible. A part of her brain that was not engaged with the raw sensations filling her soul wondered why this was so different than from when she drank from Matt, but she didn't care. All that mattered was this guy was hers, to do with as she pleased, and she was pleased to drink.

As she drank his blood, Damon came up behind her and said "Now remember, the idea is not to kill him."

Elena found his voice irritating. Leave me alone, she thought. Can't you see this one is mine?

When Elena didn't respond to him, Damon said more urgently, "Elena." Then even more urgently, "Elena, step away from the edge!"

Elena heard him and found that she couldn't ignore him any longer. Something inside of her forced her to obey him. As she responded, she compelled Roofie Guy, "Leave and forget about this." As Roofie Guy left, Elena at first was annoyed, even a little angry at being interrupted, then her awareness of their purpose returned and she felt victorious. She had done it, she had fed and Roofie Guy would see another day. True, she had needed Damon's help, but, that was why he was there. Suddenly she was confident and excited. With Damon watching out for her, she could do no wrong.

"Nice touch," observed Damon. "How do you feel?"

Elena laughed in relief. "I feel good!" She hugged Damon and whispered in his ear, "I want more."

Together, they went back out onto the dance floor. Elena discovered that she didn't have to do anything to pick the next victim. He picked himself out. All she did was dance to the beat of the music working out the energy she had from her first 'Snatch, Eat and Erase' as Damon liked to call it. In no time a guy joined up with her and started to dance. It was too easy. She caught his eyes, which wasn't hard, as he was staring intently at her with a look on his face. She had seen that look on others before, but put it out of her mind. She was still hungry. "Don't scream this isn't going to hurt," she compelled him. She drank eagerly from him before he realized what was happening. Since she had taken some of the edge of her hunger away with Roofie Guy, it was much easier to stop this time. She drank freely and as she sensed him begin to falter, she broke away. "You won't remember anything, you won't remember me, now go away."

As soon as he left, another guy stepped forward to take his place. Elena laughed, why had she been so nervous? It was all so easy! As Elena was enjoying herself, the objective part of her brain was making observations. The thought that caught Elena's attention was the realization that these guys tasted different, they had a different feel to them, they affected her differently than Roofie Guy, and Matt. Curious, she looked around for someone new. She spotted a girl by herself. Elena hadn't drunk from a girl yet. She finished with the guy dancing with her and compelled him to leave her alone. She sauntered over to the girl.

"Hi, I'm Elena. Don't you like to dance?"

The girl shrugged, "Hi, I'm Donna. I don't really like dancing like this, but you're obviously having fun."

Startled Elena asked, "Have you been watching me?"

The girl nodded smiling. "I've been trying to figure out what you're doing. There's a pattern, but I can't figure out what."

Elena responded with compulsion, "Let's talk someplace private and I'll explain."

Together, they went to a bedroom when Elena spoke, "You will stand still and not make a sound."

Similar to Roofie Guy, Donna could see what was happening, saw Elena's face transform as she placed her mouth at Donna's neck to feed. Also similar to Roofie Guy, Elena could see the fear before she bit into Donna's neck and drank from her. Elena realized the difference then. Donna and Roofie Guy tasted the same and gave her the same kind of buzz. The guys dancing with her tasted different and had a different affect. The difference in taste didn't come from their blood, it was their emotions! Elena found herself savoring Donna's blood. She was reluctant to stop, and had to force herself. There was something addicting to the fear that made her want more. When she broke away from Donna and of course compelled her to forget everything, Elena paused to consider what she had learned. She wondered if her victim had been truly terrorized, would she have been able to stop?

Elena noticed Damon hovering nearby, and realized he had been doing this all evening. Damon had been feeding as well, but the entire time he had been keeping close watch over her. At first, Elena felt a flash of irritation, she wasn't a child after all, but then realized what she had been doing, and gratitude swelled in her heart. Her instincts had been correct. Damon would never allow anything to get out of hand. He had left her alone to discover for herself what she could do, while protecting her from herself at the same time.

Elena realized that for the first time, since she had been turned, the hunger was gone. She still wanted more, but the need wasn't there. She walked past Damon back to the dance floor and started moving with the music. Her mood was lighthearted. She knew now that ultimately she would be okay. As she danced, Damon came up to her and began dancing with her. He was a mess with blood dripping off of his chin. Elena reached up and wiped some blood off her own face and giggled realizing she looked as bad as he did. She reached over to his face and wiped away some of the blood onto her finger and brought it to her mouth and sucked the blood off. It still tasted good, but it didn't carry the energy, the emotions.

Then she noticed Damon looking at her. He had the look, the look the other guys had and she understood what it was, what the flavor was. It was desire. They all wanted her. Elena had always known that she was attractive but had never realized how much she was wanted. She had been aware of the look many times before. Matt had it when they were dating. Stefan had it. Damon had it. Some of her teachers had it at times. She had always been afraid of the look, and now she understood why. They had wanted her and she had been afraid because she was weak. Instinctively she had known, if they chose, they could take what they wanted and that frightened her. But that look didn't frighten her anymore, it excited her. She was not afraid because she wasn't weak anymore. Now, a man's desire gave her power because she was strong.

As she danced with Damon she discovered something else. She knew that she had the look as well. She wanted him. She knew that she could have him, he couldn't stop her, because he loved her. She moved closer to him, almost touching him with her body. They swayed together, with their arms around each other's necks, tantalizingly close, teasing. Elena knew that tonight they would become lovers, because it was what she wanted. For now, she would savor the anticipation.

As she moved to the music, she noticed Bonnie was back, and staring at her. She was staring with a look of horror on her face. At first Elena was puzzled and then realization came crashing through. She wasn't supposed to be like this. She was betraying Stefan, she wasn't in love with Damon, she was in love with Stefan! What was she doing? How had she gotten like this? It must have been the blood. Nothing else could explain it.

"Oh my God, Oh my God!" Elena tore herself away in a panic and ran to Bonnie. "Bonnie, I've got to get out of here. Who am I? Why am I acting like this?"

"Because you listen to Damon and Damon makes everything he wants sound like a good idea." Bonnie answered her angrily.

"I should be here with Stefan, I shouldn't be here with him. I should be going through all this with Stefan." Bonnie was unaware that Elena was accusing herself and Stefan together. She accused herself for being so close to cheating on Stefan, and accused Stefan for not accepting who she was. Why did she have to go to Damon to learn about her new self, why couldn't Stefan be there for her?

"I'm guessing we should hit the road," Damon observed nonchalantly. He had heard, but chose not to respond.

Bonnie turned on him in anger. "You were supposed to help her and you let her get completely out of control."

"She wasn't out of control, she was having fun," he protested.

"This isn't fun! She's acting like a different person."

"She is a different person, she's a vampire," Damon snarled. "We're a predatory species, we enjoy the hunt, the feed, and the kill, and when the guilt gets to bad, we switch off our humanity and we revel in it."

"Is that what you want, her to be like you?"

"She already is like me, and do you want to know why I can drink my fill and leave someone breathing and not rip their head off like my brother does? Because I can revel in it, I can make it fun."

While Damon and Bonnie were arguing, Elena spotted Roofie Guy, her first 'snatch, eat, and erase' victim returning to the party. As Bonnie and Damon were distracted by their argument, Elena used her vampire movement to confront him.

"What are you doing here?" Elena asked, compelling him to tell her the truth. "I told you to go."

"I did, and now I'm back," he replied passively.

"Why? What are you going to do here? Slip some unsuspecting girl drugs?" Roofie Guy simply nodded. "Well, then what? Sneak her into a room someplace and force her to have sex?"

"No, there is a clearing I have prepared for her. I will rape and strangle her. Then, since all the other girls die staring at me, I imagine she will too. So I'll have to cut her eyes out, because I don't like them staring at me. Then I'll bury her."

Stunned by the frank confession Elena had compelled out of him, her brain stopped functioning for a moment. She even forgot to breath. Then Roofie Guy turned to go into the party. "Stop," she ordered. The emotions of the night swirled in her brain. The exhilaration of drinking blood, the excitement of dancing with Damon, the embarrassment of having Bonnie see her that way, and now rage was beginning to build as the awareness of this man's evil intent consumed her. The vampire predator nature that Damon kept identifying with began to take hold in her heart. "Girls, you said, how many girls?"

"Six, he replied calmly. Tonight, I want my seventh." His calm matter of fact statement decided her. She knew what she was going to do. She knew what she wanted to do. Her thirst for blood returned and intensified with anticipation.

"I'm your seventh," she said, compelling him. "Give me your drug." After Roofie Guy handed her his pills, she faked taking them. She made note to herself to ask Stefan whether drugs would have an effect on her vampire body. "How long until they take effect?" she asked.

"About 15 minutes," he replied.

"Well then, let's go ahead and walk. That way you won't have to carry me." Elena had to repress a grim smile at the surreal nature of their conversation.

She noticed Bonnie and Damon start with surprise when they noticed her walking away with this strange guy. She shook her head and gestured for them to stay away. "By the way, what's your name?" she was getting tired of thinking of him as simply Roofie Guy.

"Carl," he replied, "what's yours?"

"Jane," she answered, "Jane Doe." Since Carl was under compulsion he did not question the obvious lie. Even though it wouldn't matter in the long run, there was no way she wanted him to know her real name.

"There's my car, the blue Chevy." Carl paused, "I'm going to put you in the trunk of the car now."

"No you're not, Carl. I'll lie down in the back seat."

Carl nodded, "I'll lay you down in the back seat this time."

As Elena crawled into the car and lay down in the back she asked, "Why do you do this Carl?"

"I want to prove to my mother that I can get women to like me. She has always told me that women would never like me because I'm too fat and my winkie is too small." Elena was confused what a winkie was, but when she understood what he meant, she had to repress a giggle. Carl spoke again, "Oh, I guess I should tell you that you are actually the eighth girl. I wasn't counting my mother earlier. I hit her with a shovel several years ago and buried her in the back yard. I was working in the back yard when she came out to tell me it was time for my monthly inspection." Carl paused in his explanation as he entered the car, started it and began to drive off. "I decided I wasn't going to do that anymore so I hit her and she died. That was when I learned that people don't close their eyes when they die. She kept staring at me even though she was dead. It didn't matter how many times I hit her in the face with the shovel, she still kept staring. That's when I decided to cut out her eyes."

"Do you remember the names of the other girls you've killed, Carl?"

Carl nodded. "Yes, I remember them all. My mother's name was Patty. The first girl was Karen, then Barb, and Mindi, and Jill, and Claudia, and then Rita." He glanced back at her and smiled.

"What did you mean by being inspected by your mother?" Elena asked.

"Every month Mother would make me stand in front of a mirror naked and criticize how I looked. She made me masturbate to see how big my winkie would grow. She had a ruler to measure it. She always told me that if I couldn't reach six inches I could never be considered a real man. I never made six inches, so I decided not to do it anymore and I killed her."

"How old were you, when your mother 'inspected' you, Carl?"

"I don't remember not having been inspected. It was real hard when I was a young boy. I couldn't make my winkie grow. It made Mother mad and she spanked me with a belt."

"What did your father say?"

"I never knew who my father was."

The horror of the humiliation this man had received throughout his life brought tears of compassion to Elena's eyes. No matter what a monster he had become, no one should ever experience what he had described. Elena sobbed as she appreciated how grateful she was that she had grown up with a loving family. Regardless of the tragedy of her vampirism, she was so much more fortunate than this broken creature.

"We're here," Carl called out as he pulled the car over to the side of the road. He looked back at her and scowled in confusion. "I normally carry the women from here, but you don't need carrying."

"That's right Carl, I didn't take the pills so you won't have to carry me. That should make it easier for you."

Carl nodded. "That's real good. I get tired carrying the women, they can get heavy." He looked sharply at Elena. "You're crying, are you going to cause me trouble? A lot of the women cause me trouble."

"No Carl, I won't cause you trouble. I'm crying because I feel sorry for you," Elena responded softly.

Carl nodded. "That's good. You're very nice, I'm sorry I'm going to have to kill you. If you close your eyes when I do that, then I won't have to cut them out. There's a path right over here. It will take us to a clearing about 20 yards in. It's not much farther."

The macabre nature of their conversation no longer caused Elena to want to smile. For the first time Elena realized that evil cannot be measured by numbers. No matter how many women Carl killed, he was not evil. He was twisted and broken and needed to be destroyed, but he was not evil. He was simply a manifestation of the evil of his dead mother. The one person in the world Carl should be able to trust and love, warped him, abused him and molded him into the monster standing before her. Elena began to weep in sorrow for this poor empty soul that at some point in his life had a life, had a future, now he was hardly human.

As they entered the clearing Elena was still crying in sorrow for Carl, for the women he had killed, for the evil that human beings were capable of doing to each other. "Are the other women buried here?" she asked noticing the depressions in the ground around her. She shuddered as she thought of the horrific acts that had been performed over and over.

Carl nodded. He looked at Elena confused. "You're going to need to lie down now. I can't do what I need to do while you're standing there."

Elena spotted the shovel lying on the ground next to him. With vampire speed, she snatched it up and swinging it around hit Carl in the legs right at his knees. She clearly heard the loud crack of snapping bone and Carl cried out in agony as he fell to the ground. Elena knelt down next to him as he lay sobbing in pain. "You must lie still now," she compelled him softly.

Carl complied as instructed still sobbing. "Are you here to punish me?" he asked plaintively.

Elena considered the question. She had no right to punish this poor wretch. "No Carl, I can't punish you," she replied softly.

"You're here to stop me then, aren't you?" Carl questioned.

Elena nodded, "Yes, that's right. I'm here to stop you."

Carl nodded. "That's good. I need to be stopped. I've been having nightmares about women's eyes looking at me and accusing me. When you stop me, I believe the nightmares will go away." He paused, his voice choked with emotion for the first time. "I'm really sorry I hurt those girls." He paused again, and cried out as a wave of pain from his broken legs washed over him. "I'm not sorry about my mother. Are you going to hurt me?"

"Did you hurt all the women here?"

Again Carl nodded, "Yes, yes I did," The compassion in Elena's face changed to stern determination. "Well then, Carl you have your answer, don't you? Yes, it's going to hurt." Then Elena's face transformed into her demonic vampire face and she opened her mouth and plunged her fangs deep into Carl's throat, piercing his jugular. He screamed as his blood pushed into her mouth and down her throat. Elena easily took in the heavy flow of blood. Elena thrilled with excitement as Carl's life force emptied itself into her body and she drank eagerly sucking hard on his neck wanting all the fluid his body contained. As Carl's heart stopped pumping Elena instinctively sucked harder on his neck. She was determined to not leave any blood behind. She felt compelled that she not allow any of his life force be wasted. At last, the flow ceased, Carl lay still, and Elena raised herself from her bloody deed. She grabbed the shovel that lay next to him and savagely brought the blade down on Carl's neck precisely where the tell-tale marks of her fangs were left, nearly severing his head from his body and totally obscuring the cause of his loss of blood. It was only then that she realized that she was not alone. Elena looked around and saw Damon at the edge of the clearing, with an enigmatic assessing look. Elena knew he was waiting to see what she would do next.

"How long have you been there?" Elena asked.

"Not long, I was here to see the very end," replied Damon, "But I heard it all." Elena nodded.

Suddenly, the emotions of the day and this last horrific experience washed over and she felt faint. Damon quickly caught her and picked her up. "I'm very tired, and I don't want to talk. But first, I want to say before you ask, I'm alright. What I've done, I've done on my own. Don't blame yourself or anyone else. Now, I want to go home." As Damon carried her to the car, Elena realized there was one thing left to be done. "Damon, don't you have one of those, what do you call it, burner phones? Something that can't be traced back to us?"

Damon nodded, "It's in the car." When they got to the car, he got a handkerchief and wiped off his cell phone of any prints. Then he handed it to her with the handkerchief. "Be careful about prints, we'll have to throw the phone away after you use it. While you call in, I'm going back to the clearing to wipe off the handle of the shovel. We'll have to torch his car as there is no way to be sure you didn't leave any prints there.

As Damon walked back into the woods, Elena dialed on the cell phone. "911, what is your emergency?" was the response.

"I'm calling to report a murder … " Elena began.

Elena had finished telling the authorities about Carl's death, being careful not to reveal who she was, when Damon returned back from the clearing. She disconnected from 911 in midsentence and Damon took the phone from her and tossed it into the back seat of Carl's car. He siphoned some gasoline and splashed it in the interior of the car, and threw a match in to light it. They got into Damon's car and began to drive away. Elena looked back just as they heard the karuuumpf of the car exploding into an inferno.

"Please don't tell anyone else what has happened here. If you love me, you won't tell, especially Stefan." Then, exhausted, Elena drifted off to sleep. Damon drove in silence back to Whitmore to pick up Bonnie and didn't speak the rest of the way home, lost in his own thoughts.

Bonnie also was silent, lost in her thoughts. While Damon and Elena had been gone she had encountered another professor with astonishing information about Damon. She now questioned everything that she had assumed about Damon. She knew that what she had seen of Elena at the dance couldn't be dismissed as being all Damon as much as she wanted it to be true. She knew that something awful had happened with Elena and Damon after they had left her. Bonnie was afraid to ask what had happened to the young man Elena had left with. Bonnie could sense a darkness that existed in Elena and knew it hadn't suddenly appeared. It had to have been in her character before. Bonnie considered her own actions over the last year and realized she had her own darkness to deal with.

Never again would either Bonnie or Elena view the world with the same innocence as they had when the day began.

 **Will the Real Damon Salvatore Step Forward?**

Earlier when Damon and Bonnie noticed Elena leaving with the college guy, they both started to follow. He turned to Bonnie, "This is one of the guys Elena fed from. Let me find out what is going on, I think it's better if you wait here." Reluctantly, Bonnie agreed. She sat down on a park bench to wait and was dismayed when she saw Elena get into a car with this guy. Damon used his vampire speed to get into his own car to follow. Now what was she supposed to do?

"Miss?" a man spoke to Bonnie while she was considering her options. "Excuse me, miss?" Still he received no reaction from Bonnie. Finally in desperation, he sat down next to her, "Hey Miss!" That caught Bonnie's attention and she looked at him annoyed, ready to tell him to get lost. "Hi, can I talk to you for minute?" the man asked, relieved to finally have her attention. Bonnie did not reply, but she did wait raising her eyebrow in inquiry and suspicion. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions," he stated.

The man did not realize that approaching Bonnie with the intention of asking questions was a poor way to introduce himself. The last thing she wanted was to field questions from a stranger. She looked him over, he was a black man, a little over six feet tall and looked to be in his early twenties. "I don't know you," she stated bluntly. "I want to catch up with my friends." Bonnie started to get up to walk away.

"It's your friends I want to ask about," he called out.

Bonnie paused, she wanted to just tell him to leave her alone, but decided she should at least hear what he wanted to ask. She didn't think it wise to ignore anyone asking about her friends without at least learning what his interest was. She waited to see what he said next.

He reached out his hand to introduce himself, "My name is Lance Corporal."

The ridiculous name caught her completely off guard as she returned his hand shake. She couldn't resist a smile. "Seriously? Did your parents hate you?" She was reassured when she realized the vibes from his touch brought no reaction from her. On a supernatural plane, he was totally normal.

Lance laughed ruefully. "My dad was in the Marine Corps when I was born and thought the name was funny. He had suffered a lot of grief with having the last name of Corporal so he thought it amusing to stick me with Lance on top of it. He came to regret it when he realized how he looked having a son with such a silly name and tried to get me to use my middle name of Edward. But I wouldn't have anything of it. Forever more, I am Lance Corporal just to show him."

Bonnie laughed, she was now completely off guard even though she knew this ridiculous anecdote was supplied for that very purpose. Nevertheless, she asked mockingly, "Uh huh, the truth is, you've used this story as an effective pick-up line for girls. Well it's a pleasure, my name is Bonnie Bennett. So, Mr. Lance Corporal, what kind of questions do you have about my friends?"

Lance laughed and raised his hands in surrender. "You've caught me. But look, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help overhearing you call the gentleman with you Damon. Also, I was in Professor Shane's class this afternoon and I heard you mention Mystic Falls as your home. Your friend wouldn't be Damon Salvatore would it?"

Bonnie's suspicions were instantly re-activated. "Exactly what is your interest in Damon Salvatore?"

"I am working on my dissertation for my PHD. Its topic is the effect of racism on the outcome of the Civil War. Captain Damon Salvatore is a vital anecdotal piece of evidence to support my thesis. I'm hoping your friend is a descendant of the Salvatore family and has some insight to the story."

Now Bonnie was intrigued. There may be some further indicting story about Damon's character that may finally end Elena's growing infatuation with the dark member of the Salvatore family. "So, are you saying Captain Damon Salvatore was a racist?"

Lance hesitated. "When you're talking about the 1860's, that is a complicated question. Keep in mind that he was raised in slave-holding Virginia. I would imagine that he would be considered a racist by today's standards. However, by the standards of the time, I have believed that the opposite is true of Captain Salvatore and just recently I have received documentation that confirms that he had very progressive ideals and was a courageous and tragic figure of the day."

Bonnie was amazed at this comment. "You have definitely captured my interest, Mr. Corporal. However, I don't see how I can help. I know very little about the Salvatore family history," Bonnie lied easily. She needed to be careful. She desperately wanted to learn more but she didn't want to give anything away about the Salvatore brothers and especially her involvement with them.

"Please call me Lance. What I would like is if you could arrange a meeting with Mr. Salvatore. Considering the history, I am amazed that the name Damon is used in the Salvatore family. It would imply that there has been some form of redemption of Captain Salvatore's reputation within the family. If that is the case it would provide an excellent point in the summary for my thesis."

"I'm confused. You seemed to speak rather highly of Captain Salvatore a moment ago, but now you speak of him needing redemption."

Lance smiled, "If you have some time I'd love to tell you the whole story. I am sure you will find it fascinating."

Bonnie looked around for her friends. It didn't look like they were coming back very soon. Lance Corporal had definitely succeeded in hooking her attention. She gestured for him to go on.

Lance allowed a moment of silence to elapse as he collected his thoughts. "Damon Salvatore was a member of the first wave of enlistments as soon as Virginia seceded from the Union. Even though he was a member of a prominent family he insisted that he not be given a commission claiming he wasn't qualified. His regiment was organized and assigned to the brigade commanded by Thomas Jackson, which became known as the Stonewall Brigade after the First Battle of Bull Run. Salvatore served with distinction up through the Battle of Chancellorsville in spring of 1863. He saw combat in all the major battles of the Brigade and soon caught the attention of General Jackson himself. Jackson became his personal sponsor and began moving him up the ranks. He was made Captain and given his own company just before Lee's first campaign to the north in 1862. He was decorated at Fredericksburg and given temporary command of his regiment. It was expected that soon he would be promoted, skipping the rank of major and be made colonel so that he could be given permanent command of his regiment. In reviewing Jackson's memoirs and instructions to his staff, Salvatore was marked for further promotions and may have ended the war as a general officer if fate had not intervened."

"What first caught my attention was an ambiguous comment concerning him from General Lee immediately after the Battle of Chancellorsville," Lance paused has he fished a document from his brief case and handed it to Bonnie. "Look there," he said pointing to a specific point in the document.

Bonnie read out loud slowly, "I see no other option but to grant Captain Salvatore's request for separation from the Army of Northern Virginia. It comes at a time when the South has desperate need for officers of Captain Salvatore's character and ability. However, after the unfortunate event at the conclusion of the latest battle, the men of his regiment simply will refuse to follow his leadership to their own discredit. My heart tells me to intervene on his behalf but I fear to do so would only result in rendering my own ability to serve the Confederacy compromised. I tell myself this but fear it is merely an attempt to mask my own moral cowardice in regards to an issue that will haunt the South long after this bloody conflict is resolved."

Bonnie looked up confused. "I don't understand, what is he saying?"

Lance explained, "There has long been a suspicion that at the conclusion of the Battle of Chancellorsville a massacre of Negro soldiers occurred. In the confusion of battle, a wagon train of Union supplies mistakenly drove into Confederate lines and was captured. The drivers were all Negroes and were Union soldiers in uniform. The use of black men as soldiers enraged many in the South and it is believed from such recordings like General Lee's that the men were executed rather than treated as prisoners of war."

"So you're theory is that Captain Salvatore had something to do with the massacre. But, his involvement may have been as a perpetrator if the massacre actually occurred."

Lance shook his head. "I don't think so. That would require General Lee to be supportive of the massacre and that is contrary to everything we know about the man. I believe that careful examination of the text clearly indicates that Salvatore opposed the massacre and therefore, being at odds with the general view of race, he undermined the confidence his men had in his leadership." Lance raised his hand as a gesture of emphasis, "Now we come to the really puzzling part of Captain Salvatore's story. The memoirs by a Mr. Gilbert regarding a minor battle at Willow Creek simply records Damon Salvatore and Stefan Salvatore as killed in action. However, in the memoirs of a Mr. Forbes it says the following," Lance pulls out another document and reads, "Damon Salvatore has displayed the same cowardice and moral corruption as he has shown at the Battle of Chancellorsville and it has cost him his life. It is tragic that his association with his younger brother Stefan has caused young Stefan to be afflicted with the same flaw and therefore they both have paid the same price for this infamous sympathy." Lance returned his papers to his briefcase and looked at Molly. "It has been a point in my thesis that Damon Salvatore was an exemplary officer in the Confederacy. That he had made significant contributions to the Confederate cause. However, his attempt to prevent the commission of a war crime caused him to be rejected by his command rendering him unable to serve as surely as if he had been killed in combat. In fact, his regiment had served with distinction with many battlefield honors up until that point, but there is not another positive mention of it for the remainder of the war. One could argue, that not only did the South lose the services of one its gifted sons but rendered ineffective an entire regiment directly as a result of its racial prejudice. Furthermore, that at a time when the South needed the complete support of its villages and communities they were instead distracted by racial division and the so-called Battle of Willow Creek was not an actual battle at all, but a repression of a slave rebellion."

Bonnie was stunned at the conclusions Lance was raising and the ramifications these statements had on her own conclusions of Damon's character. Was it at all possible that when Elena had defended Damon she could be justified? Bonnie shook her head in disbelief. "This is very interesting, Lance. But, you've reached these conclusions on very little evidence."

Lance nodded his head. "I would have agreed with you, Bonnie, until a couple of weeks ago when I received this letter from the papers of Tobin Williams from Danville, Virginia. Tobin Williams served with Salvatore from the beginning of the war and they were close friends until Salvatore's last battle. All of his correspondence spoke with great admiration of Salvatore, his courage in combat, his care of his men, and his canny ability to oppose and defeat the enemy. Then he wrote this letter to his wife after the Battle of Chancellorsville which proves my point and it raises questions regarding what actually happened at Mystic Falls in 1864." Lance handed a typewritten transcript of a letter to Bonnie to read.

 _My Beloved Maggie,_

 _I am sure that you have read in the newspapers that our own General Lee has once again thrashed the enemy as they have attempted to invade and subjugate our homeland. God continues to protect our homeland from the despotic invaders of the North. It is clear that God desires our cause to be victorious since he has given to us such noble leaders such as General Lee and General Jackson. I am writing you to show that I have again survived a major engagement without injury. I thank God for his providential protection since many more deserving comrades have given their all for the successful conclusion of our great cause and have fallen in the glorious field of battle. However, our entire brigade reels in sorrow that our own beloved commander, General Stonewall Jackson, has fallen. Instead of praying for my own safety, please transfer all your petitions to the Almighty for the preservation of General Jackson, for next to General Lee himself, the South cannot spare such a great leader as General Jackson._

 _I must at this time, however, share with you a most disturbing development concerning Damon Salvatore. You note that I do not refer to his rank as he has proven himself so underserving of such an honor or courtesy. I only write this as I have to date written fondly of him and praised his accomplishments and leadership. In fact, I do confess that without his intervention I would not be alive today, yet he has shown himself so unfeeling to the true character of our cause that I would rather be dead and buried in the ground than to express any gratitude to him for any service he may have rendered. Therefore, I must write and correct the impression I may have given that I regard him as an honorable and admirable man._

 _Upon conclusion of the latest battle, we came across a number of darkies, counting of the number of fourteen, dressed in the blue uniform of our enemy. Now, not only does our enemy desire to invade our homeland and render a torch to our homes, he recruits our slaves against us to murder us in our beds, and ravish our women. It is clear to any thinking man, that this outrage is further proof that our enemy does not fight to preserve the Union as they are fond of proclaiming but to destroy our way of life, our very culture, and subjugate our country under the heavy boot of oppression._

 _Upon discovery of this infamous offense to our nation, there was only one response that could be considered by honorable and civilized men, and I am proud to say that it was my voice that was lifted to suggest it. These scoundrels, who dared to pretend to be men, should immediately be hung by the neck from the nearest tree. As I said, I voiced the necessity of this action and we, our beloved regiment, were well situated towards completing the task, when Salvatore came to us ordering us to halt immediately, that these darkies were to be treated as prisoners of war. I must confess I was speechless that my own friend should speak out against us, we who had fought so gallantly together. It took a moment before I could find my voice and I spoke passionately that to do anything less than to lynch these darkies whose presence were such an insult to humanity, would dishonor our regiment in the eyes of our society and the eyes of God. Salvatore then pulled his sword in defense of these abominations. Yes, he pulled his sword in defense of these against his own men who had fought by his side these many years and miles. Praise God, Major Gilbert, who hailed from the same region as Salvatore, road up and commanded him to sheath his sword. Major Gilbert came to our assistance and assured him that the lynching was required to send a message to our enemies that such insults would not be tolerated, that God himself would judge us harshly should we hesitate in performing our duty. Salvatore then cursed the Major and accused him of being a servant of Satan rather than the Almighty if he thought a lynching was God's will. He then proclaimed he would kill anyone who lifted his hand against these darkies dressed in the uniform of our enemy. This enraged the regiment so badly we quickly overpowered him. It is my opinion and I voiced it loudly that Salvatore should be hung along with the trash he was determined to defend, but the Major stated that military regulations would not allow this and we must refer the matter to General Lee. He had Salvatore bound and forced to watch as we completed the business of hanging all fourteen of the darkies who dared to pretend to be soldiers. I am sorry to tell you that General Lee has spared Salvatore and sent him home rather than dispensing the punishment he deserves. I am still of the opinion that if any man deserves the rope it is he. My prayer is that his home will not tolerate his presence and at best will hang him, but at least will drive him away with tar and feather as he has no honor and does not possess the courage to be about the Almighty's business. He is, without a doubt, the most miserable of cowards."_

After Bonnie had finished the first few pages, she saw the remainder dealt with details of Tobin Williams' farm and expression of affection for his family. Bonnie could not process the implications this letter had about Damon's character. "I had no idea about this. Damon does not talk about his family and the Civil War. But, what does this have to do with the Battle of Willow Creek?"

Lance nodded, "Mr. Forbes comment in his journal clearly links Captain Salvatore's actions at Chancellorsville with the reason for his death at Willow Creek. If these are connected then the action at Willow Creek clearly must have to do with race and not the repelling of a marauding Union Calvary as their records indicate. It's weak I grant you. But I'm hoping your friend may have some knowledge passed down through the family that will validate my argument."

Bonnie nodded her head and gestured to the copy of the letter. "This is a copy, may I keep this and show to Damon?"

Again Lance nodded, "Of course, that is why I gave it to you. Please emphasize my desire to talk with him. Give him my card and have him call me. I'll be very grateful." Lance rose to leave. "I can see that you are profoundly moved by this story and had absolutely no idea that such events occurred?"

Bonnie nodded her head.

Lance smiled, "It is an unfortunate fact of history, that the ones in power control the definition of truth in many of the events of human affairs. I have learned the hard way, that when there is universal consensus regarding the events of history, then it is all the more likely that a cover up has occurred. Good day Bonnie, I hope to hear from you or Damon soon." Lance shook her hand good bye leaving Bonnie disturbed and confused.

Bonnie tried to process this new view of Damon Salvatore and failed miserably. Finally she concluded that ultimately it didn't matter. Damon's actions over the past 150 years easily cancelled the tragedy of his early life. However, if that were true of Damon, wasn't it equally true of Stefan? How could she justify calling Damon evil and Stefan good? Was Stefan's current feelings of guilt and his abstention of human blood enough? Gramps had seemed to think so, but Bonnie began to have her doubts. She realized that she needed to confront Damon and then she would decide what to tell Elena.

 **Bonnie Confronts Damon**

After dropping Elena off, Damon went home and immediately poured a stiff drink. His emotions were in turmoil after the events of the evening. In his gut he believed that the revelry he and Elena had shared was a good thing. Since arriving at Mystic Falls he had failed at everything he had wanted to accomplish, reunite with Katherine, and then prevent Elena from becoming a vampire. Now, she had to come to terms with spending a very long life as a vampire. She had to find a way to live that would sustain her for centuries. He had seen Stefan's way fail too many times to believe that his way was best for her. After the events in the clearing he really had no idea what was best for her. He was beginning to realize Elena had too many other people, including him, trying to figure what was best for her. He understood now that Elena had to figure out what was good for Elena.

When the doorbell rang and he saw who was there he cursed under his breath. He really didn't have it in him to deal with recriminations from Bonnie. He thought briefly about ignoring the doorbell, but the demanding knock that followed emphasized that the coming confrontation could not be avoided. Once he opened the door, Bonnie came storming in.

"I'm not here to talk about Elena," she said. "I don't want to try to make sense out of this evening. I am upset, confused, and as I think about what my best friend is going through … Well, she would have been better off if you and Stefan were both dead."

"Hello to you too," Damon replied sardonically. "So, why are you here? You want to have a go at me? This may be an opportune time. I'm not much in the mood for a fight."

"It's too late for that. Killing you would not do Elena any good now."

"Good, now that we have that settled, I don't intend to ever kill you, and you don't want to kill me, at least not for the time being, all for the sake of Elena. So are we done now? It's been a really long day."

Bonnie took a deep breath and then asked, "What do you know about Tobin Williams?"

Damon's eyes narrowed suspiciously. How had she heard about Toby? "I've been around a long time Bonnie. I've known a lot of people. How about being more specific?"

"The Tobin Williams I'm talking about fought in the Civil War."

Damon got up and went to the bar and grabbed his bottle of whiskey. Bonnie wasn't sure whether he was stalling or really wanted a drink. Damon sat down across from her and kept his face averted as he filled his glass with bourbon and spoke quietly. "That was a long time ago, Bonnie. Why this sudden interest in ancient history?"

Bonnie handed him her copy of Tobin's letter with Lance's card attached.

Damon noticed the name on the card first. "Lance Corporal? Really? His name is Lance Corporal? How can you take someone with a name like that seriously?" Damon chuckled in spite of his tension with the introduction of the subject of Toby. Bonnie just shrugged, smiled, and gestured that Damon should read the letter. She watched his face closely has he read. As he comprehended what he was reading his first reaction was intense grief. However, it passed quickly and turned to rage. He snarled as he crumpled the letter and threw it into the fire. By the time he turned to face Bonnie, the old sardonic cynicism that Bonnie was used to was back. But now she knew that this face was a mask. "Why are you interested in ancient history, Bonnie?" he snarled. "What do you think you are going to accomplish?" Bonnie noticed that although he had burned the letter, he had slipped Lance's card into his pocket.

"Damon, Elena is the closest thing that I have to a sister. I love her and will do almost anything for her. Now that she is a vampire, she's trapped in this triangle between you, and Stefan. However this works out, it's evident that she has become part of your family. Like it or not, we are stuck with each other through Elena. I have tried to understand you from the beginning. Sometimes I think of you as simply evil, then, you do something that makes me question my view of you. I know you've done the same thing to Elena. I have to decide whether or not to tell Elena what I now know about you, and I don't even know what that is."

"What's Corporal's interest in this?"

"Lance is working on his doctoral thesis and your story figures prominently in the topic."

"Hope for his sake, he has time to start over, because this thesis is never going to get finished," Damon observed to himself. He took a long pull from his drink and spoke to Bonnie. "Toby was a real piece of work. We started the war really good friends but by the Battle of Chancellorsville I hated his guts. The war turned him into one mean son of a bitch." Damon paused recalling old memories. "We had a new guy in the regiment, name was Bobby Sanders. Well, Bobby cleaned Toby out in a card game one time. It was before Fredericksburg. Bobby made the mistake of gloating about it in spite of everyone else's warning. Toby made sure he got his revenge. You didn't make fun of Toby Williams. To understand what he did, you have to understand what happens sometimes in battle. At Fredericksburg, the Union Artillery would fire solid shot to break up our earthworks. These cannon balls come rolling along the ground like a bowling ball. Looks pretty tame, but you sure don't want to get in its way. It's so damn heavy, nothing will stop it. So Toby sees a ball coming our way and dares Bobby to try to stop it. The dumb son of bitch gets in front of the ball and tries to stop it with his foot. The ball took off not only his foot but also his whole leg up to just below his knee. Bobby just stood there staring at the bloody stump that used to be his leg with blood spraying all over the place. Toby just stood by laughing at him as we scrambled to tie a tourniquet on Bobby's leg to keep him from bleeding out. Toby wouldn't quit talking about it, making fun of 'dumb Bobby' until I ordered him to shut up. Toby didn't like that, I think that was part of the reason he was so anxious to see my neck stretched. I didn't care whether he liked it or not, he wasn't the one who had to see Bobby every day for five days until he died." Damon paused, took another drink and then told Bonnie, "Toby survived the war, but I heard that a couple of years later some animal attacked him and his family. Ripped them all to pieces." Damon glanced at Bonnie and grinned. "Just goes to show, what goes around, you know?"

Bonnie shuddered in horror at what Damon was describing, both the brutality and the implications regarding his revenge.

"I can close my eyes and still see those fourteen men hanging, dying. When you hang someone you're supposed to have them drop against the rope. The knot rests next to your ear and when you hit the end of the rope it will snap your neck like a twig. I do a better job, but it's pretty effective. Those black union soldiers didn't get that courtesy. They were dragged up off the ground and were strangled. As they died, they emptied their bowels into their trousers. The stench was awful. It was just about the dumbest thing I've ever done, standing up for those men. They were dead in any case, either right then or in a POW camp. There was no way they were going to survive the war and they knew it."

"So why did you stand up for them?" asked Bonnie.

"I just couldn't see myself living with it. Like I said, I was stupid. I'm still living with it, or dying with it." Damon laughed harshly as he took another drink.

"At least your conscience was clear," Bonnie tried to comfort him.

Damon glanced at her in amusement. "I was a sharp shooter at the beginning of the war. I was one of the best shots in Jackson's Brigade. I had the nerve to lie still while bullets were whizzing around like hornets and squeeze off a shot to kill a target. I could consistently kill a man 1200 yards away. When you're shooting a man that far away, it takes 3 to 4 seconds from the time you pull the trigger to when the bullet hits. You have to watch him and get an idea how he moves. You have to anticipate where he'll be 3 seconds later. You have to get to know him, get to know his tendencies. You take your shot and then you watch through the field glasses whether you hit him or not. You get to see the plume of red as the bullet blows his head apart." As Damon described this he gestured with his hand, starting with a fist and then spreading his fingers apart representing the spray of blood from a man's head. "A clear conscience? That ship had sailed before the end of the first year. I still don't know why I stood up for those colored men. I was a cold-blooded killer by the end of the first year. Why I cared about 14 more dead men is beyond me."

"But you were at war, fighting soldiers. Surely that made a difference."

"Bonnie, dead is dead. Everyone wants to live, soldier or not. After I was dismissed from the army I was happy to spend the rest of my life being the town drunk. Whiskey was my humanity switch and I wanted it off. Then I met Katherine and she showed me a way to not be human anymore and I was all in. Of course we know now how that worked out. "

"I marvel at the hypocrisy of humans. They get so horrified that vampires kill every so often, but you should have heard the men cheer when I succeeded in blowing the brains out of some unsuspecting officer across the battlefield."

"There is a difference, Damon, between killing combatants and killing innocent people."

"The first time I broke someone's neck was in the war, after the Battle of Antietam creek. He was 14. How he got in, I don't know. I was a lieutenant then. His name was James, a real sweet kid. Eager to get along with everyone. We kind of made him our mascot, tried to keep him out of danger. He got shot in the gut during the battle. The surgeons tried to fix him up, but when you were shot in the gut back then, there wasn't much hope. Infection set in. He spent three days in agony. I held him in my lap to comfort him. I listened to him cry for his mother, cry for help, and finally cry to die for relief of the pain. The stench of his infection was so unbearable I could hardly breathe. The others would have ended it as soon as the infection set in, but I wouldn't let them. I kept hoping for a miracle. Everyone begged me to end it, they couldn't stand listening to his cries, and they couldn't take the smell. Finally, during one of his more lucid moments James looked at me and thanked me for staying with him, then asked me to let him go. I remember kissing him on his forehead, and then I snapped his neck. Of all the people I've killed, he was the most innocent." Damon's eyes had moistened as he recalled the time. Bonnie touched his shoulder to comfort him, but he shrugged it away.

"Are you getting to know me better, Bonnie?" Damon sneered. "It's pretty simple, I'm a killer. If there is a problem, killing is the answer. Turning me into a vampire didn't make me a killer, I already was one. Becoming a vampire doesn't change a person, living changes them. The only thing being a vampire does, is make you an outcast, afraid to let others know what you are. It makes you a hunter as well, because you have to hunt to live. If a vampire is a slicer now, he was a slicer before."

Bonnie shuddered as she understood he was referring to Stefan. "You're very angry with Stefan, aren't you?"

Damon shrugged his shoulders. "I came back to Mystic Falls for only one reason, that was to rescue Katherine from the tomb. I have never dragged a human into this world, other than Vickie, and she was more than willing. I have turned a number, but it has been because they wanted it. Stefan, on the other hand, came to Mystic Falls to be with Elena. As soon as Stefan came into her life there were only two possibilities for her, death in the ground or death as a vampire. So here she is, and we've had a glimpse of her destiny tonight. Yes, I'm angry with Stefan. I'm angry every time I hear him say how much he loves her. If he really loved her he'd have never been part of her life, we'd both be gone and Elena would be a normal teenage girl."

"Bonnie, I'll tell you, I think Stefan will be bad for Elena. I know I am, the trouble is, now that she is a vampire I don't know what will be good for her. Will she be better off with Stefan, or alone, I don't know. Maybe I'm taking the easy way out, but after tonight, I'm convinced we need to leave her alone and let her work it out. But there is no way Stefan will do that."

"Aren't are you afraid she'll do something horrible and be lost forever?"

"No, as I said, being a vampire isn't what changes a person. I believe in her. She will make mistakes sure. But the compassion that Stefan calls her Achilles heel is her greatest strength. She will find her way, I'm sure of it."

Damon stopped and finished his drink. "I've never talked this way with someone I couldn't compel to forget. I want you to promise, don't tell anyone what was said tonight. If you tell any of this to Elena you won't be doing her any favors."

"You don't think she deserves to know? What you've told me will certainly help improve her opinion of you."

"It's in the past. She needs to decide things based on the present. Look, I think we're done. You've stirred up enough unpleasant memories tonight. Are you going to tell Elena?"

Bonnie considered, then shook her head. "No, it isn't for me to tell. Does Stefan know any of this?"

Damon shook his head. "Stefan is too concerned with being guilty to really pay attention. No he doesn't know a thing."

Bonnie nodded. "I'm not going to say anything to Elena unless she brings it up."

"That's a good plan. Good night Bonnie." With that Damon turned and left her.

Bonnie stared after him indecisively. She understood that Damon would not allow Lance's thesis to be finished. She hoped he wouldn't hurt him. However, she was glad she had made a copy of Tobin Williams's letter. She believed the day would come when Elena would need to know more about Damon's past. Finally, she turned and left as well.


	2. Tragedy in New York

**Elena Proves Her Point**

Caroline and Elena were having lunch on the patio at the Mystic Grill. It was a glorious day, plenty of sunshine, but not too hot, in the mid-70's. It was the first time they had gotten together since graduation.

"So how've you been? Have you spent all your time with Tyler or did you see Klaus in New Orleans?" teased Elena.

Caroline sighed. "Am I terribly wicked that I can care for both Tyler and Klaus? I have to confess that I am a little embarrassed talking with you about this."

Elena was surprised. "Embarrassed? Why would you be embarrassed?"

"I was so judgmental about you and Damon. I couldn't see how you could care for him after everything he had done. Now here I am attracted to Klaus. What is it about us that seems to prefer the bad ones over the good?"

Elena laughed. "I'm glad my love life is simple for a change. Caroline, it isn't that black or white. Damon isn't all bad, Stefan isn't all good. Your perception of Damon is biased because you knew him best when he was in love with Katherine. He's very different now. I've known him well before and now. I know what I'm getting Caroline and I couldn't be happier."

Caroline considered Elena as she laughed. Frankly she was amazed how lovely Elena looked. She was happy, vibrant, more alive than she had been since her parents were killed. Could it really be possible that Damon was the real love of her life, not Stefan? Caroline couldn't fathom it, not the Damon she knew, the real Damon. Caroline kept waiting for the whole house of cards that was Damon and Elena to collapse with Damon doing something absolutely horrible again. Then it would be up to her and Bonnie to help Elena pick up the pieces and it would have to be done without Stefan.

Just then a waiter came by. "Will there be anything else ladies?" They both shook their heads no. "Well I'm going on break for 10 minutes. I'll check back with you then." The waiter turned around to leave.

Elena spoke up. "Caroline, I have to go to the ladies room, I'll be right back." She got up and followed the waiter inside. As soon as they were inside she looked around to see if anyone was looking and then compelled the waiter, "Follow me to the back." The waiter followed her obediently. When they arrived at the back of the restaurant where they had some privacy, Elena spoke "Stand still, don't make a sound, this will not hurt." Then Elena's face transformed and she bit him in the neck with her fangs. After she drank for a few minutes she released him, and wiped the blood away from her mouth. She took a napkin and wiped the blood off the waiter's neck, took a small vial of blood from her purse and told him to drink it. After he had, the puncture wounds in his neck healed quickly. With just a dab of makeup she hid any remaining sign that he had been bitten and then told him to go on to his break and not to remember anything that had happened. The waiter turned obediently. Elena went into the ladies room to be sure she had removed any remaining blood.

When she returned to Caroline, Jeremy was there as well. Unknown to them both, Bonnie's spirit was also present with Jeremy. Elena gave Jeremy a hug and sat down. She looked at Caroline innocently, "Damon and I want to invite you and Tyler over for dinner. We'll even have real food for Tyler and Jeremy. Damon will cook and you know he is a very good cook.

Caroline stared sharply at Elena. "You have a drop of blood on your blouse!" she accused Elena. "You were snacking on that waiter!"

Elena checked the stain, annoyed with herself. "Shoot! I'll need to get this home, I really like this blouse and I don't want it stained. I was so careful too. Shoot!"

"Is that all you've got to say? You're worried about your stupid blouse? This is what comes from being with Damon! What happened to the Elena who was so happy she could drink from a blood bag. Who was so happy she didn't have to hurt anyone anymore? What is happening to you Elena?"

Elena stared back at Caroline in astonishment at the passion of her protest. "You don't think you're overreacting a little don't you? I didn't hurt anyone, I just took a little blood. No big deal."

"I'm upset because of Damon's influence over you. You wouldn't be doing this if he hadn't suggested it."

"Damon has nothing to do with it. It's my decision Caroline."

"But why, Elena. Just tell me why, if it isn't because Damon has suggested it."

"Are you still stuck on this sire bond thing? It's over Caroline. I am not sire bonded to Damon. I am not some brainless airhead unable to think for herself."

"Well then tell my why, Elena. At least admit that it's because Damon is encouraging it."

"Damon doesn't know anything about it!" Elena exploded in frustration.

There was a moment of shocked silence as Caroline tried to process this information. She couldn't be telling the truth. She had to be lying to her. Tears came to Caroline's eyes for her friend. "Elena, can you hear yourself? You're lying to your friends to cover for Damon."

"Fine, we're all going to my house and get this sorted once and for all. Damon's there, we'll deal with this sire bond foolishness once and for all."

"Umm, Elena, can I come to? I'm really wondering what's going on with my big sister too."

"Sure, why not? I wish Bonnie were in town as well. It will be good to get everything resolved at one time."

"You wish Stefan were here too, don't you?" asked Caroline.

"Stefan does not have anything to do with it anymore." Elena snapped. She was annoyed so that came out harsher than she intended, but nevertheless it was true. She realized she was well and truly over Stefan. Elena realized that she had grown to love Damon so deeply, that her relationship with Stefan had faded to a sentimental memory. "So, in twenty minutes, we meet at the Salvatore place."

Within 20 minutes they were all sitting in the Salvatore's living room. Caroline, Jeremy, and Damon, with Elena standing in front of them. "OK, everyone who thinks I am still sire bonded to Damon raise their hands." Jeremy and Caroline both raised their hands, Bonnie nodded, though nobody but Jeremy noticed. Damon began to raise his, but Elena saw him. "Damon, so help me, if you raise your hand I'll stake you in your sleep."

Damon dropped his hand immediately then raised them both in surrender, "Just kidding, Elena. Trying to interject a little humor."

"Ha Ha," replied Elena. "So you all think I am sire bond. OK Damon, tell me to do something."

"Ok, kiss me."

Elena couldn't help smiling. "Not right now, but I'm sure I will later."

"That doesn't prove anything. You didn't give him an absolute no." protested Caroline.

"What do you want Caroline? You want me to swear off kissing him forever just to prove I'm not sire bond? You're being ridiculous," snapped Elena.

Damon interjected, "Look Elena, this isn't really necessary. Let's forget it."

"I am not going to forget it!" Elena stomped her foot. "I'm tired of everything that I do that shows I love you being attributed to some non-existent sire bond! Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to have your friends look at you like your some simpleton? Thinking, 'Oh poor Elena, she doesn't really know what she's doing. She's sire bonded you know.' So Damon come on, tell me to do something."

Damon sighed. "Elena, you're overwrought, have a seat and calm down."

"I will not calm down and I will not sit down. Stop handling me Damon! Will you just think and tell me something to do so I can tell you no and they'll know that I am no longer sire bonded to you!" Elena almost screamed at him in frustration.

Damon and Jeremy both started laughing, Bonnie was grinning in relief as well. Elena simply stared at them like they had lost their minds. "Sis, Damon's told you to do three things and you've said no to all three."

Elena looked at him in confusion. "What three things?"

Jeremy counted with his fingers, "He told you to forget it, you said no, he told you to sit down, you said no, and he told you to calm down, you said no. I don't know about what Caroline thinks, but you are definitely not sire bond."

Caroline sighed. "Ok, Ok, no sire bond. Then explain why you were snacking on humans today Elena."

Damon sat up. "What are you talking about? Elena, were you snacking on humans?"

"What is the big deal? Yes, I snacked on the waiter. I drank a little blood, and then gave him a little of mine to heal the wound. He wasn't hurt, no harm no foul."

"You gave him some of your blood? What if he gets killed in a car wreck. He'd turn into a vampire. Have you lost your mind?" Squealed Caroline.

"Oh give me a break, it was less than an ounce. Just enough to get him to heal quickly. It won't stay in his system for more than an hour."

"But something still could have happened. You have to admit."

"Then I guess I'd have to stake him, to make sure he stayed dead." Elena shrugged.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this! Damon, what do you have to say?"

Damon noticed Elena watching him intently. He knew this was a crucial point in their relationship. "I think," Damon said slowly, "that Elena knows what she's doing and what she wants and people should but out." He saw Elena relax and smile. He knew this was what she needed him to do, not question her, not even defend her, but simply trust in her judgment. That was what Stefan did when she was human and couldn't do when she was a vampire.

"I am curious Elena, how long have you been snacking?" he asked her.

Elena shrugged, "A few weeks, 2 or 3 times a week. I just find the blood bags so bland. It's like living on a constant diet of rice and then walking by a steakhouse. The smell is so compelling, you just want a taste to know what real food is."

"But it's all just blood," protested Caroline. "It's not steak versus rice, it's just blood."

Damon understood immediately what was going on. He realized that even he had been influenced by Stefan's propaganda. It wasn't just blood, it was the life force of the human. By the time the blood was processed and stored in the blood bags the life force was almost all gone. Elena knew the difference from her feeding on Matt, at the party at Whitmore College, from Carl, from her taste of Connor's blood and then when her humanity switch had been off. She knew the difference. Caroline had killed and tasted the blood directly from a human but the occasion was traumatic for her and she had all but blocked it out. Caroline would never be able to fully taste a human's blood as result.

Damon realized that Elena had been very fortunate so far. She had been able to experience her first kill without the guilt. Carl needed killing, any fool could see that. She had killed Connor but not by taking his blood. She felt remorse over the necessity, but did not associate it with the taste of blood. During her time without her humanity, she had killed, but not by taking their blood. However, she had tasted blood in a number of different settings. Elena was unique among vampires in that she did not associate draining a human's blood with guilt or remorse. Damon realized that he needed to discuss this with Elena. She needed to understand what happened when she took a human's blood. He realized that he had been enjoying the bliss of their relationship so much that he was neglecting her education as a vampire.

"Caroline," Damon spoke up. "There are some differences in your situations. Blood is not just blood. It does make a difference. Elena and I need to talk some things over. There's nothing wrong with what she has done. She's not losing control, she's not going to go on some blood binge killing people indiscriminately. You need to relax."

Caroline looked at Damon doubtfully, opened her mouth to argue, then shut it, unable to come up with an effective argument. "I guess so. It just seems so unlike her."

Caroline looked from Damon to Elena and back. "Look, Damon. I need to apologize. You treated me horribly in the beginning and I still hold a grudge against you for that. However, Elena is obviously very happy with you. I've never seen her happier." Caroline glanced at Jeremy for confirmation, and he nodded his agreement. "So for Elena's sake, I'm going to stop thinking bad thoughts about you. Elena is obviously very much in love with you, and you are very much in love with her. So I'm going to bury the hatchet and wish you the best."

"Thanks Caroline, that means a lot. For the record, I am very sorry about all that I did to you back then. Sometimes I do things that I shouldn't."

"Great, this great." Elena exclaimed. "This worked out better than I ever hoped. So I think we're done now, you guys can go, Damon and I need some alone time. OK?"

"Translation, they're going to have sex," said Caroline in a stage whisper.

"Caroline, my kid brother is here!" complained Elena, mortified.

"Really Elena? I'm living here you know. I can hear you guys. " Jeremy laughed as he walked out with Caroline.

Damon laughed as Elena blushed. "So, Caroline says we're supposed to have sex now, and we should always do what Caroline says," Damon said mockingly.

Elena curled up next to Damon and sighed, "Sounds wonderful."

However, Damon sat her up straight. "Later," he replied firmly. "We need to talk."

Elena moaned. "I knew it was too good to be true. Here goes the psychoanalysis on why Elena is suddenly feeding on humans! I just didn't expect it from you, Damon. 'A vampire drinks from the vein.' Isn't this what you've always said?"

Damon nodded, "True, but did you keep this change of diet from me as a secret, or do you consider the change so insignificant that it didn't merit any comment at all?"

"I guess I was trying to maintain plausible deniability for you. You don't know what it's like to have every decision you make questioned." All of a sudden it occurred to Elena that Damon might disapprove. "You don't have a problem with this, do you Damon?"

Damon shook his head. "No not really. I've just realized there are some things we need to talk about. Not from the Stefan Salvatore playbook' point of view, of 'I'm your boyfriend and I want you to be this person to make me happy,' but from the point of view that I've been around 150 years and have some insights you may be interested in."

Elena smiled in relief, "Yes Jedi master, you have my attention, shoot."

"When you drink from the vein, you're taking in more than a human's blood. You're taking in the human's life force, his energy, if you believe in that stuff. When you drink from a blood bag, there is very little left of the human energy, it barely sustains you."

"You make it sound rather ghoulish."

Damon laughed, "It is ghoulish Elena. We are vampires. Surely you never thought that we drink blood the way we drink soft drinks. It's a supernatural occurrence, just like we are supernatural creatures. When we died, our own life force left us. To maintain our life we need the life force of humans."

"But if we don't feed, we don't die, we dehydrate, but we don't die."

"When we became vampires our spirit was trapped in our bodies so that it can't escape except under certain conditions. But to enable our spirit to energize our body we need the life force of another. It doesn't have to be human of course. Stefan survives off of animals although I don't see how he can stand it. Their life force is very weak. Vampire blood on the other hand is especially powerful since it is the accumulation of many other's life force."

"Really, vampire blood? Have you drunk from a vampire?"

Damon shook his head and chuckled. "No, vampires can't be compelled and they generally don't volunteer."

"You did."

Damon nodded, "Yes, I did. Do you remember what that was like, Elena?"

"Yes, it was overwhelming, I felt a rush of energy, almost euphoria."

"Yes, when you drink from someone you gain insight into their being, who they are, what they're feeling. It can be a very intimate exchange."

Elena was silent for a few moments as she absorbed this information. She was confident that Damon was correct as it explained so much of her experience. Then on impulse she looked at Damon and asked him softly, "Would you like to drink from my vein, Damon?"

Damon looked closely into her eyes. "Do you want me to, Elena?"

Elena nodded her head, closed her eyes, and held his head, as Damon gently placed his mouth on her neck and sank his fangs into her vein and drank.

 **Emails With the Other Side**

"You've got an email from Elena, do you want me to read it to you?" Asked Jeremy.

"No, don't you dare. Go ahead open it but don't read it. This is private between us," Bonnie replied firmly. She knew he was kidding, but it was annoying not to be able to do things like this herself. Being a spirit had some advantages, but she would much rather have her physical body back.

"She's my sister Bonnie, don't you think I should know what's going on with her?"

"I'll tell you what you need to know, Jeremy. Just open the email and then leave me alone."

Jeremy sighed, opened the email so Bonnie could see it and then moved to a different chair. When Jeremy moved away, Bonnie eagerly bent over to read.

Hi Bonnie,

I can't tell you how badly I miss you. There's so much going on in my life I really need you here to talk with. Please, please come home soon. My time with Damon has been wonderful. Having these weeks without some world catastrophe to deal with has been what we have desperately needed. I've had time to think as well as love, lol. As a result I have an awful confession to make. A realization that has been growing on me for months. Bonnie, I am glad I am a vampire! Isn't that simply awful? When I think of the sacrifices my friends have made, how Jeremy gave his LIFE (I'm so glad he's back, thank you thank you thank you) to get me the cure to vampirism when all the time I REALLY DIDN'T WANT IT! When Damon offered me the cure and I turned it down, I felt this tremendous weight lift off of me. I hope you will forgive me for this. I have been terribly selfish.

Please forgive me,

Love

Elena

Bonnie read the email several times trying to absorb it's content. She knew that this was Elena, her true self, speaking from her heart. She also knew that her love for Damon was a big part of her acceptance of being a vampire. But she knew there was a deeper reason. Her time in the spirit world had brought her into contact with her ancestors, other Bennett witches. She now understood that there were larger intentions behind the events surrounding Mystic Falls. She had begun to question how much control they really had over their own destiny.

"Okay, Jeremy, I'm done. I guess you can read her email, but you better keep it a secret. You're going to have to know what it says, because I need you to write my reply. Let me know when you're ready."

After Jeremy finished, Jeremy whistled to himself in surprise. "Wow, sis, I have to say you're full of surprises."

In Mystic Falls, Elena couldn't be still in apprehension. She had received the read confirmation that Bonnie had opened her email. She was almost nauseated worrying about how she would take the news. When the bell in her computer announced that she had received an email she was there in vampire speed. Her hand hovered over the keyboard, trying to summon the courage to see what Bonnie's response would be. She simply dreaded to find that Bonnie condemned her and wouldn't have anything to do with her. She finally clicked open and when she read the first sentence wept in relief.

Hey Girl,

There's nothing to forgive. We're best friends , I love you. I believe there's more going on around us than we can be aware of. You didn't choose to be a doppelganger. You didn't choose any of this. And things that you did choose, loving Stefan, then loving Damon, were acts of love, not evil. I admire you Elena, I admire how you love.

Sorry, I can't be with you guys. I miss you too! Being stuck here where I can't be with you is a real drag. From what Jeremy says, you and Damon are very happy, and I couldn't be more pleased. After the night in the clearing, Damon shared some things in his life that I promised not to tell, but they have convinced me that deep down he can be a very good man/vampire. I also know he can be very bad. I think it's because of you that he is moving away from the edge. It's a big responsibility to hold Elena, another man's happiness, remember that.

Your Best Friend Always

Love

Bonnie

It took a few moments for Elena to compose herself. She hadn't realized how badly she needed Bonnie's understanding. She considered what Bonnie said about there being more going on around her than she could see. She had been feeling that way as well. One thing that had influenced her ability to accept her change to a vampire was the sense of inevitability, that somehow it was meant to be.

She pondered what Bonnie had said about Damon sharing with her about his past. She was glad that he had. Drinking each other's blood had become a normal part of their making love. She had never known such intimacy could exist. As a result they understood things about each other that could never be explained in words.

Hey Bonnie,

I don't deserve a friend like you!

There is one other piece of news I need to break to you. I've decided not to go to college this fall. I haven't told Caroline yet. I'd rather face a dozen werewolves. It just doesn't make sense to go when I don't know what I want or need to study. I am convinced that it is more important for me to spend the time with Damon and come to a better understanding of what it will mean to spend my life as a vampire. Like you, I don't believe this is just some random occurrence. Now is not the time to keep on pretending nothing has changed and keep trying to do the things normal 18 year olds do. Every time I do, some new disaster comes. So I'm counting on you to keep Caroline at bay. She is full of plans about what our life at Whitmore will be like, BFF roommates and all that. I'm afraid with me not there she is going to focus all her planning skills on you. Good Luck!

Oh, by the way, Damon is taking me to NYC next weekend for a week. He figures that the last time we were there we were all distracted with my getting my humanity and all and I need to properly enjoy the Big Apple. He wants us to do all the tourist things like go on top of the Empire State Building, go to a Broadway Show, take a carriage ride in Central Park, do all the things honeymooners do. Oh! Did I say honeymooners? Don't worry, we're not doing anything silly like having a wedding or anything like that, but Damon and I are definitely permanent.

Love

Elena

When Jeremy read Elena's email, he said to Bonnie, "See I told you she had decided not to go on to school. I know my sister, and the way she kept ducking the topic I knew she wasn't going. Caroline is going to have a fit. When are you going to tell them about your situation, Bonnie? It's going to come to a head soon."

Bonnie sighed, "Yes I know. I suppose deep down I knew Elena wasn't going to go, I just didn't want to face it. Poor Caroline, what is she going to do? I don't want her going to college alone. She's dead set on going to college. She's determined to live the life she had always planned on."

Hey Elena,

We are going to have a serious problem with Caroline! You see, I've decided not to go to college either. There is nothing that college has to offer that really interests me. I need to focus all of my energies on developing and controlling my powers. The events of the last few months have proven that just getting stronger is not enough. I need to better understand all the ramifications of the things that I can do. We'll need to talk with Tyler, someone is going to have to watch over her. I don't like the idea of her being alone at college. How in the world she will cope with a human roommate is beyond me.

I know you and Damon will have a blast in NYC. I really envy you two.

Love Bonnie

 **Katherine**

"Oh no!" Elena exclaimed in dismay after she read the last email from Bonnie. "Poor Caroline." She stood up and paced the room thinking desperately. She loved Caroline but she could not go to college just for her sake. It was too big a time commitment, there was something inside her that told her there were more urgent things she needed to be doing. She tried to think of a solution but none came to her. It was at that moment that she heard Damon returning to the house. She realized that he had someone else with him. She turned as he entered the room and was shocked to see he was dragging Katherine with him.

"Katherine! Have you lost your mind coming here? On what planet do you think you could possibly be welcome here?"

"That's what I told her," growled Damon. "I wouldn't have brought her except she threatened to make a scene. There are a lot of complications she can cause being your doppelganger. "

Elena calmly walked up to her and grabbed her head with both hands, "I could easily break your neck and there is nothing you would be able to do to stop me." She saw the fear in Katherine's eyes and realized how desperate she must be to come to them. "Why are you here, really?"

"I have no place to go!" cried Katherine in despair.

Elena suddenly realized that Katherine was now human. She drew close to Katherine's face and using all her concentration she compelled her. "Tell us the truth, why are you here?"

Katherine's face suddenly went blank. "I told the truth, I have no place to go. I have money but I can't access it. It's all under false identities that I can't access without my vampire power of compulsion. My only hope is to appeal to your compassion Elena, and hope that Damon has some sentiment from the past so I can work out a deal."

Elena suddenly realized having a doppelganger at hand could be very useful, if only she knew how to be sure that Katherine could be made to behave.

"Are you hoping we'll turn you back to a vampire? That's not going to happen." Elena said.

"I can't be turned," Katherine explained with her blank expression. "I'll simply die, no matter how much vampire blood I have in me."

This startled Elena. That had never occurred to her. All of a sudden Elena had an idea. "Think back, Katherine, think back to before you became a vampire 500 years ago. What were your dreams then? What did you want from life? Was being a vampire your dream?"

"No," replied Katherine, "I wanted what any girl wants, to have some fun, have a man fall in love with me, have children, and grow old together."

"What went wrong, Katherine," Elena asked gently. "Why didn't you get those things?"

Katherine shrugged. "I wanted too much too fast, I suppose. I didn't like to conform to the standards of behavior set for women back then. I allowed myself to be backed into a corner."

"If you had a chance, do you think you would have an easier time of it now, verses then?"

"Where are going with this, Elena?" interrupted Damon. "Surely you don't think she can be trusted, that somewhere in that lying heart is someone who can be redeemed?"

"Do you think she's right, that she can't be turned?" asked Elena.

"It makes sense actually. She's alive now through magic, not by the natural life force. So the one thing that is certain is the magic that produces a vampire will not work on her anymore."

"Then yes, I think she can be trusted. Her power to harm us is greatly diminished. We are the only place she can turn to. So long as that is true, she can't betray us. If and when that is no longer true then we will have to reevaluate. Whether she can be redeemed? Well, that's not really our problem. The fact that she can be compelled is a point in her favor." Elena turned back to Katherine. "I have a test for you. If you complete it successfully we will protect you and give you a home. If you fail we will snap your neck. Do you understand?" Katherine nodded her head. Elena saw a spark of hope in her eyes. "Damon and I are going on a trip together. It will be useful to me if everyone thinks I am still in Mystic Falls. You are going to pretend to be me, while we are gone. I will tell Jeremy and Bonnie the truth but Caroline will not know, nor will anyone else. Our bedroom will have a spell cast over it that will prevent you from entering." Elena thought for a moment, "Oh, our wine cellar has the same spell. Your primary task, while we are gone is to be the best friend you can possibly be for Caroline. Make the rest of the summer the best she's ever had. You owe her that in any case."

"Are you crazy?" hissed Damon. "Besides, since when can you cast spells?"

"I can't," whispered Elena, "but she's under compulsion, remember? But, I think it's worth a shot. Jeremy will tell us if she's misbehaving."

Damon sighed. "We're going to regret this. There has never been an occasion where I haven't regretted being involved with Katherine."

"This is the first time she's been human though," replied Elena.

"Ok, if you say so. But if she screws up our trip to New York, I swear I'll snap her neck."

"Oh yes, one other thing Katherine."

"Yes," replied Katherine.

"Show Damon how to get to the money you have saved away."

Katherine nodded, a resigned expression in her face. "Give me a sheet of paper, it will be easier if I write it down."

Elena smiled triumphantly to Damon. "This will work nicely. Sweetheart, how about setting up an allowance for Katherine? Just enough so that she has some spending money while we're gone. Just enough for her to get food to eat and entertain herself, modestly." Elena emphasized the word modestly.

Damon began to relax. If Katherine could be compelled to turn over her money to them, then Elena may be on to something.

"I'm going to call Jeremy and then email Bonnie what we're doing. I'm sure they won't be happy about it, but I think I can get them to go along," said Elena. "Ok Katherine, I'm releasing you from compulsion."

Katherine returned to her normal self, except she looked totally defeated, which was an experience she hadn't had in centuries. "So, are you going to completely bankrupt me as part of your revenge?" she asked.

"No, your money will remain your money," replied Elena. "It's just going to remain under our control, for the time being."

"When do you want me to start being you?" she asked.

"Soon, as soon as we leave."

"And I'm supposed to be extra nice to Caroline."

"Yes, if this works out, you and Caroline are going to become BFFs." Elena smiled in amusement at the irony.

 **Tragedy in New York**

Elena and Damon were having a fantastic week in New York. Their first night there, they went to see Phantom of the Opera. Elena was enthralled with the story and the music. She wept at the conclusion when the Phantom gave up his hope of being with Christine out of his love for her. She felt that Andrew Lloyd Weber had written the story about them. The Phantom's story was so much like Damon's it was uncanny. She identified with Christine so well, she was convinced that if the story had continued Christine would have declared her love for the Phantom. She loved the musical so much, they saw it two more times and she cried at the end every time. Damon laughed at her, but she saw tears in his eyes as well.

They ate at the finest restaurants, although the excellent food really did not interest them, and Elena knew that several times the staff was dismayed to be returning to the kitchen virtually untouched the excellent food they were served. Elena did enjoy Damon's lessons on the appreciation of fine wines. Yes, they did satisfy their thirst for blood, discretely, although their hunt for donors was not nearly as ravenous as the time before.

Elena called Jeremy every day to see how things were going and all the reports were positive. Apparently, Katherine, aka Elena, and Caroline were having a wonderful time. Elena was looking forward to interviewing Katherine while under compulsion to find out how great a burden she found it, being just a teenage girl again.

After they had been in New York for 5 days, Elena was beginning to tire of being the tourist. She began to develop a real interest in the people living there. She began to want to see more of the other side of New York, not just the glamour, and bustle of Manhattan. She began to ask about the other Burroughs and ask about the parts of town she should be sure to avoid. Something was drawing her to want to be around the outcasts and derelicts of New York. She was becoming bored with the content upper middle class and wealthy of Manhattan. Damon was picking up on her restlessness and had been waiting for her to tell him what she wanted. He finally concluded that he was just going to have to ask her what she was thinking.

"Alright, Elena, spill it. What's going on in that lovely head of yours?" They were lying naked in bed together. Elena had been unusually aggressive that night which had been fine with Damon, but he did pick up on the underlying impatience it carried.

"I don't understand Damon," Elena purred. "What makes you think something is going on in my head. I'm just being your normal run of the mill skank."

Damon scowled, he didn't like it when she teased him like this. He understood why she did it. There was a very real danger he would lift her up on a pedestal so high as to be completely out of his reach. Yet to think of her in any way less than perfection was painful. Elena laughed, leaned over and kissed his scowl away.

"You really need to lighten up, dear heart. There are times when you have no sense of humor."

Damon smiled in return. "I really don't deserve you."

Elena punched him gently on the arm. "You are being presumptuous. I decide who deserves me and who does not. That is not for you to decide. I have decided that you deserve me, and I have decided that I deserve you, so you just better get used to it." Elena laughed merrily.

Damon couldn't resist her teasing. "I'm sure I won't have any problem. So, what do you feel like today?"

"I think I'd like to spend a relaxing day in the park today, and tonight there's a few places in Brooklyn I want to check out," she replied vaguely.

"Brooklyn? What's in Brooklyn?" queried Damon.

Elena gently drew circles with her finger on his chest looking down, not wanting to meet his eyes. "Oh, I'm just a little curious about other parts of New York."

Damon watched her, wondering what she was really thinking, then shrugged. "Fine, some peace and quiet, then a little danger to spice things up."

They spent the day together as Elena wanted and then caught the bus to Brooklyn. Damon didn't understand why they couldn't take a taxi. Elena replied she wanted to act like a true New Yorker and true New Yorkers couldn't afford to pay a fortune for a taxi. They walked around for hours, talking, laughing, enjoying each other's company. Gradually, the people on the streets began to thin and less and less reputable people began to haunt the streets. Suddenly Damon became aware of their surroundings and noticed the attention they were beginning to attract.

"Hey Elena, we need to hail a taxi and go back to the hotel. It's pretty late."

Elena nodded, "Okay, it is getting rather interesting though. There's not much traffic, how will we find a taxi?"

"Let's see, we're a few blocks away from the subway, It's still running, we can walk back that way if we don't see a taxi before."

"Okay, well, let's go."

They walked for a short while when Elena's vampire hearing heard a cry of pain and a voice shouting in anger. "Wait, Damon did you here that?"

Damon paused and nodded, "Yes a woman is in trouble." He looked around, I believe she is in that apartment building.

Elena heard another cry, this time of pain. She ran into the building, Damon ran after her. Once Elena was inside, she paused, confused, not sure where to go. Damon ran in after her, "Upstairs, quickly."

They both dashed upstairs with vampire quickness, they paused so they could pin down the location easier. They heard another cry and Damon cursed. "We've gone too far, she's below us now." They turned and ran down a flight of stairs and paused to listen.

"She's still below us!" cried Elena in frustration. "This isn't working. We're not going to find her in time!"

"I think we're close, one more flight of stairs," said Damon.

Once they were on the next floor they paused again. They heard a moan. "This is the floor," Elena cried. "Oh God, I think we're too late!"

The walked quickly down the hallway, listening at each door. "In here! She's in here!" called Elena.

Damon easily smashed through the door, knocking it off its hinges with the force of his entry. Elena followed immediately after to see a man holding a woman with one arm while he stabbed her in the abdomen with the other. She grabbed the man and tossed him against the wall, smashing a hole into it. Damon went to the woman, biting his arm to get it to bleed, hoping to save her.

She had fallen to the floor. As Damon bent over and attempted to force his blood into her mouth, she shook her head and moaned, "My son, who is going to care for my son?" The next sound she uttered was the rattle of her death as her last breath escaped from her lungs.

Damon looked up and shook his head at Elena, "We're too late."

Elena picked the man up from where he had fallen. He still had the knife in his hand, but he was dazed from the force of his hitting the wall. She looked into his eyes and compelled him, "You are going to tell me the truth. What is your name?"

"John," he replied.

"Why did you kill that woman?"

"She's one of my whores and she was holding out on me. This was the 2nd time she done that. I don't give no second chances. It's bad for business."

"Have you done this before, killed one of your women?" Elena asked.

"I've had to kill three girls in the last 4 years. Every now and then one of the girls think they can keep some of the money for themselves. I have to teach them. I beat them the first time, and kill them if they try again. Most have the sense not to try."

"Why do they do it?" asked Elena.

"I don't care, most of the time its cause they got a kid somewhere, like that one." He nodded at the dead woman.

"Do you know where her son is?"

The man shook his head. "Haven't a clue, the whore's brat is none of my concern. My only concern is the money she brings in."

"What's your hold over them? Why do they give you the money they earn?"

"They don't have a choice. If they don't I'll hunt them down."

"Are they ever free?"

"When they die.'"

"How do they die?"

The man shrugged, "Different ways, some pick the wrong john, some from drugs, some just take themselves out. Doesn't matter, there are plenty of runaways to take their place."

"Runaways! How old?"

The man shrugged, "15 plus or minus. The younger the better, they're easier to train."

"Train to be a prostitute you mean."

The man nodded, "That, and to depend on me. If they start too old they know how to run away."

Elena couldn't stand to hear any more of what this man had to say. There was one thing else that needed done. "What was the woman's name?"

"Mattie" he replied.

"Use Mattie's blood and write this on the wall. 'Her name is Mattie, she has a son, she was killed by a sadistic pig."

When he was done, she didn't tell him to hold still, she didn't tell him not to scream. She wanted him to know what was happening just as the women he had enslaved and killed knew what was happening to them. Her faced changed as she attacked him and her fangs pierced the jugular artery in his neck. She easily held him still and his cries quickly faded away.

She stood up and wiped John's blood off of her face. Damon shook his head in amazement. Was this the same woman he slept with last night? She was such an angel then, now she was an avenging angel. "Elena, you need to wipe the place down so there are no prints. I'll make sure no potential witnesses know what happened."

It took them 30 minutes to finish up at the apartment. They walked away together arm in arm. As they walked Elena thought of the women that man had enslaved, whose lives he had ruined and she wept bitterly. She hoped that now that they were free, at least some would be able to salvage their lives. She knew the odds were against them. She knew that other men stood ready to take that monster's place. She believed that some would be saved because of what she had done. She was sure of it.

It was two in the morning when they arrived at the hotel. They undressed each other and went to bed holding each other tightly. Elena whispered into Damon's ear. "You said that vampires are predators. Humans are predators. We didn't become a predator when we were turned. We were predators when we were born."

Damon kissed her tenderly, "Shhh, dear heart. Sleep now. We'll talk later."

Elena nodded, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

She woke a few hours later to see Damon sitting at a chair nearby watching her. She smiled uncertainly and asked, "What are you doing?"

Damon smiled in return, "Watching you sleep."

Elena relaxed a little. It was going to be okay. "Come back to bed."

"We went to Brooklyn last night to hunt, didn't we?"

Elena nodded. "I hadn't really thought it all through, but yes, I guess we had."

"Do you understand why?"

Elena shook her head no.

"We'll be hunting again, sometime. Won't we?"

Elena nodded. "Yes, I believe we will."

"But you don't know why."

"All I know is that it feels right to do this. We are saving lives by hunting the predators of this world." Elena was silent a moment, considering. Then she asked, "It's different when you take life that way, isn't it, different from when you drink enough to survive. I mean, of course it's different because they're dead, but the blood itself is different, isn't it?"

Damon nodded. "I've killed people that way. It does affect you. Most vampires avoid it by killing their prey before they've died from loss of blood. I know that's what I've done. It's when their spirit leaves their body as your drinking their blood, that the change occurs."

Elena nodded. "I think it's wrong, Damon, to take a life without really experiencing that last breath of their spirit. It diminishes their humanity. It's cheap."

"I don't know of any vampire who has done what you have done, Elena, to actually try to understand the life you are taking."

Elena shrugged. "There's a price to pay. It's painful. I can't help mourning the loss, even when he is evil like John. I believe if you take a life, you should pay that price. But afterwards, I can't find the words, but I feel stronger somehow."

Damon breathed deeply. "Let's lighten the mood. What do you want to do today?"

Elena smiled brilliantly. "I want you to come back to bed. Then I think it's time to go home to Mystic Falls. I'm dying to find out how Katherine, a.k.a. Elena, has got on in our absence."

 **Investigation**

Jo, Henry, and Mike arrived at the scene in the middle of the afternoon. A police officer greeted them. "It's a real mess in there. We have uniforms gathering up the residents to find out who knows anything."

"Good job, Sergeant. Go ahead and take their statements, we'll get back with you in a few minutes."

They stopped in surprise when they got to the apartment. The door was smashed open, lying on the floor. Inside they clearly saw the body of a woman and a man. Jo saw the writing on the wall, turned and asked Mike, "Whose apartment is this?"

Mike checked his notes, "Mattie Hammond, I guess we know the name of one of the victims."

Jo called the sergeant over. "The woman victim apparently has a child somewhere. Get social services to start checking on it." The sergeant nodded and left talking on his radio. "Henry, what do you think?"

"The woman, Mattie," he conceded nodding to the writing on the wall, "was clearly stabbed to death. I'll know for sure later, but it appears she was stabbed 6 times. The man's cause of death was …" Henry looked up in astonishment, "complete removal of his blood! I can't find any other wounds other than this apparent bite mark on his neck!"

Mike snorted in amusement. "Yeah, right Doc, are you telling us we got a vampire in New York?"

Henry looked at Mike with annoyance. "What I am saying, Detective, are merely the facts. All the blood was removed from this man's body through this wound in the neck. I'll be able to give you a full report after I examine his body."

"Can you walk us through the crime scene, Henry?" asked Jo.

"Certainly. Clearly, this man was the murderer of the woman, you can tell by all the blood on his right hand and arm. He held her body against him as he stabbed her repeatedly. It was clearly a brutal and heartless murder. The damage in the wall establishes that he was interrupted and thrown against it with considerable force. Whoever did this was very strong, probably exacerbated by an adrenalin rush from witnessing a murder in progress. From the foot prints in the blood, there were two. One went to attend to Mattie, the other went to the killer. From the prints, the one who went to the killer was much smaller, I would guess a woman, the other a man. The killer was stood up on his feet. He then went to Mattie and then went to the wall to write that message. Finally, he was killed where we found him."

Jo was baffled, "The murder victim wrote this? How in the world did they get him to do that? Mike, do we have an ID on the guy yet?"

"I just ran his prints. He's John Guilford. He was a pimp, a real piece of work. Several arrests for assault. A prime suspect in a couple of murders, not enough evidence to convict. He had a reputation of hooking up with teenage runaways, stringing them out on drugs and adding them to his stable of prostitutes. Once in, they never get away. I hate to say this, but good job getting him off the street."

Jo nodded, "It's a murder nevertheless. We really need to get social services rolling. If we act fast, we can round up his stable of prostitutes and get them some real help. Maybe a lot of good can come out of this. In the meantime, get CSI busy to work the room. See what kind of real evidence we can find." She smiled as she delivered a final joke. "Find something that doesn't involve vampires, although I imagine Lucas is going to love this." She chuckled as she saw Henry cringe at the prospect.


	3. Elena Explains

Elena Explains

Damon and Elena were driving home from New York. He was driving his Jag with one hand on the steering wheel, the other held Elena's hand. She snuggled against him using both of her hands to clasp his and her head lay against his shoulder. They had gone this way for several hours, hardly speaking, each lost in their own thoughts. Damon was pondering the events of the past few weeks, wondering what they might mean to Elena and their future. He had always known she was a strong vibrant woman. Now it appeared she had taken command of her life. It was disconcerting to say the least.

They had just picked up I-81 in Pennsylvania when Elena broke the silence. "Didn't you fight in the Battle of Antietam?"

Damon tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he recalled that bloody day. "Yes, I did. I was in the Stonewall Brigade. Why do you ask?"

"Will you show it to me? I don't think it's much out of our way."

Damon almost said no, that it was a part of his past he didn't really want to revisit, when he realized that she was staring up at him pleadingly. For some reason, this was important to her. He shrugged his shoulders. "Over 160 years ago, and still the mention of that place gets me. There's a reason they call it the bloodiest day in American History, Elena. You sure you want a personal eye witness account?"

"I don't really want a history lesson, I want to know about you. That was part of your life."

Damon nodded his head. "Fair enough, but turnaround is fair play. I want to talk about last night."

Elena nodded, "So do I."

They continued on in silence. As they passed Chambersburg, Damon made an attempt at humor. "Gettysburg is only 30 miles that way. Its closer, do you want to go there? It probably will be more interesting."

"Did you fight there?"

"No, they kicked me out of the army before then."

"Then I'm not really interested. I'd rather go to Antietam."

"Tell you what, Elena. My involvement actually started at Harpers Ferry. Let's go there first, stay the night, and then we can go to Antietam tomorrow. Otherwise we'll be very late getting back to Mystic Falls."

Elena smiled at Damon. "That sounds really good Damon."

They found a charming B&B that overlooked the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. The weather cooled off nicely that evening and they opened the windows so they could hear the tourists pass by, and later that evening hear the gurgle of the rivers as they continued their path to the ocean. They made love tenderly that night. Whereas Elena had lately been increasingly confident with Damon, possessing a growing awareness of how to please him, this night, she was tentative and unsure. She held back, until Damon took command. Elena melted in his arms willing to respond to any desire he had. Being together for them was instinctive, as if instead of two bodies they were one. Their intimacy had reached the point where speaking was no longer necessary.

There room was situated so that it faced due east, and the rising sun in the morning woke them both up. Elena kissed Damon good morning, looked down at their bodies and grinned. "You know, since we've been together, I don't think there has been a single day that I have woken up dressed in my pajamas," she teased.

"Pajamas are definitely overrated, especially in the summer."

"What, are you saying I can't count on you to keep me warm in the winter? You disappoint me."

Damon grinned at her. "We'll have to see, won't we? Besides I think it's you who will have to keep me warm." They both laughed.

After they dressed and had breakfast, Elena asked Damon to show her around. "Have you ever been here before?" he asked her.

She nodded her head, "When I was in the 6th grade our class took a field trip here. I was more interested in the frozen custard and a boy."

Damon grinned, "And now? Are you interested in the battle now or are you still just interested in the frozen custard?"

"I'm interested in you. What did you do?"

"My regiment was placed on the heights across the Potomac, the Maryland Heights. It was a sharpshooter's dream position. We had a completely clear field of fire. The Federal's were sitting ducks. It actually was a pretty easy day for us. Sitting up there with our glasses and rifles, picking off anyone foolish enough to stick their head up. Their commander, Miles, was fool. Didn't know what he was doing. He caused a lot of lives to be lost."

"What were you thinking, sitting up there, waiting for someone to make himself available to be killed."

"A soldier doesn't think much during times like that. He's just focusing on doing his job."

"Anything exciting happen to you, during the battle here?"

Damon smiled, "No, not really. It was an easy battle for us. Tough day for the Yankees. It was after the battle that things got rough."

"Really, why was that?"

"Lee was up against it at Antietam, had the whole Yankee army sitting on his front. He sent orders to Jackson for us to move up to join him there with all haste. The Yanks here surrendered around 10 in the morning and then my regiment was ordered to force march 18 miles north to join Lee. That march was hell. 18 miles doesn't sound far now, but when you're on foot with paper for soles in your shoes, carrying about 60 pounds, it's rough. We had to jog, then walk, then jog the whole way. As the company commander, I hardly got to walk, I had to run up and down the ranks, swatting slackers with the flat of my sword to keep them moving. I lost 8 men out of the company that day. The ones with dysentery had it really bad."

"Lost, you mean they died?"

Damon nodded. "Probably, I don't know for sure, about 20 fell out of the ranks and couldn't get back up. Most caught up that night, the 8, I never saw again."

Damon and Elena spent another hour looking around, window shopping a little and then Elena asked if they could go to Antietam. It was only a 20 minute drive to the park.

"You want to go to the Visitor Center?" Damon asked.

Elena shook her head. "Take me to where you fought."

"My company was stationed with a regiment of Georgians on the bluff overlooking that bridge across the creek. We sharpshooters were especially needed that day to keep the Yankees from crossing the bridge and attacking Lee's flank. Not much happened the next day, it was like Harpers Ferry, we sat around, picking off any Yankee fool enough to give us something to shoot at. Then day after that, all hell broke loose all over. It started over to our left, but by 1:00 they attacked here. Once they started, they kept hitting us over and over. For most of the day they kept trying to cross that damn bridge and we kept driving them off. Finally, they got enough sense to wade across the creek and we figured we were done for. We couldn't retreat, if we did the Yankees would roll up Lee's entire line. So we had no choice. Our orders were simply to fight and die. It was hand to hand at times. That's the worst kind of fighting there is, when you watch them die up close. We were out of bullets, out of water, out of everything. We thought it was a miracle when Hill arrived from Harpers Ferry just in the nick of time. He certainly took his sweet time getting here, but when he did, he hit them Yankees like a sledge hammer, drove them back across the creek and the day was pretty well over. We spent the next day just looking at each other, too exhausted to fight, too mean to run. The bodies on the field was sickening, I've never seen anything like it, not even in either of the World Wars. After a day of licking our wounds, Lee decided he had no choice but to go home, and so we left."

They sat down on the bluff overlooking the bridge that Damon had fought so hard over those many years ago. "It's so peaceful now, it's hard to imagine," said Elena.

Damon nodded. "That's the way it should be. A piece of land should have to absorb only so much blood and violence, and then it should be allowed to rest."

"What about us, Damon? How much blood and violence should we have to absorb?"

"Honestly Elena? I'm not sure there's a limit. Dying is about the only way to escape it. I guess you have to find a way to come to terms with it, or go crazy."

"Or turn off your humanity switch and gorge yourself on it," replied Elena.

Damon shrugged, "There's always that."

Elena shuddered. "I can never go back to that. I'll take off my day ring and burn before I go there again." Elena looked up at Damon and suddenly changed the topic, "Do you know when I began to not be in love with Stefan?"

Damon shook his head.

"It was when I realized he had saved Matthew instead of me from the river."

"But that's what you wanted him to do."

"Yes it was, it's perverse isn't it? Men would call that typical of a woman. I was sincere in wanting him to do that. But, I also wanted someone who would always choose me. I don't want someone who will choose what's right rather than choose me. I want someone to choose me. I want someone who will be as selfish as I am. I wanted Stefan to save Matthew because I didn't want to live with the guilt of Matthew being dead and me being alive. So I was glad he did, but I was disappointed that he could leave me to die. Really deep down, I wanted Stefan to save me, and then I could blame him for saving me. You and I are the same deep down, Damon, we're both selfish. I will always choose you Damon because I don't want to ever live without you, just like you'll always choose me because you don't want to live without me. I was so angry with you that you would be willing to die and leave me alone. But if it had been me at the quarry, I would have made the same choice as you. I'm as selfish as you Damon. I told Bonnie that I am glad to be a vampire because I don't want to grow old while you stay young."

Damon chuckled and kissed her. "I guess we'll have to be sure to take good care of each other then."

They were silent for a while, taking in the peace and quiet. Finally, Elena broke the silence again. "I've been thinking a lot the past few months about the past couple of years. There has been so much death, so much suffering, and yet I'm so happy, I have to ask myself, how dare I? How dare I be so happy when Vicki, Jenna, Uncle John, Isadora, and others are dead. How dare I be so happy when I've caused others to suffer, when I killed that woman, and I don't even know her name. I can't even remember what she looks like. How dare I be so happy? And you, you're happy too. I know I've made you happy and I am glad. I'm proud too. I'm proud to be the one who can make you smile and forget. But how dare you be happy, who has killed people who didn't deserve to die? How can either of us dare to be happy when we've caused so much pain in our past?"

"You know what I realized? It's something that Stefan has never been able to figure out. I can dare to be happy because it doesn't do anybody good to be miserable. Being unhappy doesn't fix anything, it doesn't make anything better. I realized this after I forced Katherine to take the cure and realized how glad I was that it was gone. That was when I accepted that I could be happy, not because I deserve it, but because I might as well."

"That was when I made a vow to myself, I would grab all the happiness that came my way, not because it's what I deserve, but because to be miserable when I can be happy is to waste something precious."

"I realized something else. You can't live your life just being happy. You can't live your life just enjoying something you don't deserve. I realized I need to give back somehow. I don't owe a debt for causing unhappiness, well I guess I do, but it can't be paid. You can't pay back for the misery you cause, but you can pay for the happiness you get. You pay by helping others to be happy as well. At the very least you can't cause someone else to be unhappy, when you have been happy. So, I made a second vow that day, Damon. I would do all I could to avoid causing unhappiness with anyone else. That's all we can do, Damon. Be happy when we can, and not take another's happiness from them."

"So, how does this explain your change of heart about drinking from a human and the hunt the other night?"

"Well I realized how screwed up Stefan is. He is an addict, but his addiction shouldn't affect me. Living off of animals, really, just made me ill. I could not ever get over it. Drinking from blood bags really doesn't make sense when you think about it. I mean people don't give their blood for vampires to drink. They give their blood to save lives. What right have we to consume it like it's a cocktail? I'll admit, it's a rationalization, because I do prefer the blood warm from the vein. But, I would have continued drinking from a bag if it made the most sense. When I drink from a human, I don't hurt them, I don't take anything away from them. When I drink from a blood bag, I'm increasing the chances that someone else won't be able to get the care they need. Once I thought it all through, I haven't looked back."

"If you accidently turned someone into a vampire, would you really stake them like you told Caroline?"

Elena laughed and shook her head. "I only said that because I was annoyed. Caroline has the knack for getting my goat like no one else. I wouldn't be able to kill them like that, I would feel responsible for them."

Elena became serious again. "Damon, do you wonder what we'll be like after a hundred years? After two hundred years?"

Damon shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. I've always figured that the end was just around the corner. I guess, until I fell in love with you, I've always wanted the end to be just around the corner. Lately, I've just been enjoying each day, thinking tomorrow it might end."

Elena nodded. "That's a good way to be, I guess. A woman however, just naturally thinks about the future. I love being with you, making love with you. I have to wonder though is that enough? If I were human, I would be thinking about children, but now that's not possible. So what is the point? Do we just drift along, being happy but not really doing anything? I look at the vampires who have lived a long time and I don't like what I see. They're either running for their lives, like Rose, or desperately grabbing more and more power without having any idea what to do with it. We won't last together centuries living like that. There has to be more. I don't want what we have now to degrade into selfish decadence and indifference.'

Damon found Elena's dissertation fascinating. My God what a creature she was, he thought to himself. How did he ever deserve her? He laughed to himself, he knew her answer, he was being presumptuous. She decided who deserved her not him.

Elena looked at him. He was smiling. "Are you laughing at me?" she asked, offended.

Damon sobered immediately. "Not at all. Forgive me. I was distracted for a moment."

Elena compressed her lips, annoyed. "This is important to me Damon. Please pay attention."

Damon was apologetic. "I am, really, I am. I was just thinking how much out of my league you are."

Elena sighed. "Normally, I would disagree. But at the moment, I'm feeling more like your mother than your lover. I wanted to come here for a reason. I wanted to come here to have this discussion." Elena sighed again and began again. "In any case, I've been considering what we should be doing with our lives. I've thought a lot about Carl."

Damon was confused momentarily who Carl was, then remembered the clearing.

"What about him?"

"You've often said that we're predators, hunters. In nature, the hunters keep the herds strong by weeding out the weak and ill. After Carl, it occurred to me that vampires are made to hunt the human predators to protect the weak."

"You mean to be a vigilante."

Elena shrugged. "Perhaps, we're designed for it, don't you think? We have our ability to hunt, our hearing, our speed, but most of all our ability to compel the truth. Vigilantes don't care about truth, they want justice at best, but mostly revenge. We have no right to hunt for justice. If that were the case, I'd take off my day ring and be the first to die. But we can protect the weak. By taking Carl's life, I saved lives. By taking John's life I saved more lives. If I follow this path, I'm not going to hunt the ones who have killed, I'm going to hunt the ones who will kill, and when I am not hunting, I will enjoy all the happiness that comes my way. This is the path I choose for myself." Elena paused and looked into Damon's eyes. This was her moment of truth, she needed to ask Damon something that would define their lives together. She hesitated, reached down and caressed her day ring on her finger. She felt the heat of the afternoon sun on her face. "Damon, will you walk this path me? I don't think I can alone."

Damon thought about his life. He'd killed so many times. He'd killed for a lost cause, he'd killed for revenge, he'd killed for Katherine, when she didn't deserve it, and he'd killed for no reason at all. Elena was offering a cause that would never know victory but each small success would mean life for others. Elena wasn't offering a cause to change the world, just make it a little better. Damon nodded. "Any path you take Elena will be mine as well." He grinned then, "Although I don't think the path exists yet. We're going to have to make it ourselves as we go along."

Elena sighed in relief and took her hand away from her day ring. "Yes, and we have to create safeguards."

"What do you mean?"

"Without safeguards, we'll begin to hunt for ourselves, not for others. I don't want that to happen, I'd rather we died. We need Bonnie. She can create the safeguards. We'll have to find her. She's been gone too long."

Damon bent down, kissed her, and held her tightly. "I love you Elena. Let's go home. We have to make some plans."


	4. An Unpleasant Surprise

An Unpleasant Surprise

Elena and Damon arrived home a little after 9 that night. The journey home after they had left the battlefield had been an amazing experience for Elena. They got to talk seriously about their future. Elena was gratified to realize that Damon had already been giving the matter a lot of thought. His concern had been about the practical realities of living as a couple. Details like how to deal with being ageless in a world governed by time, the management of money and property, even the need of alternate identities were discussed. Elena's concerns regarding the meaning of their life and Damon's concerns about the details of their life fit together hand in glove. Nevertheless, it had been a long and tiring trip, physically, mentally, and emotionally so that Elena's top priority when arriving home was to draw a steaming hot bubble bath and settle in for a long soak. It can be understood how upset she was when she discovered that Katherine had beaten her to it, and was already soaking in the tub, drinking a glass of champagne.

"Oh, Hi Elena! Hi Damon! You'll pardon me if I don't get up, I'm hardly decent as you can see," Katherine purred. "If you had called to let me know, I could have arranged a proper welcome home. By the way, Jeremy is at the Mystic Grill, working, he'll be out late. I trust you had a good vacation?"

Damon, who had entered immediately behind Elena found it rather bizarre seeing the two doppelganger twins together, one standing by the tub and one in the tub. It was like seeing a time-lapse photograph but with some physically disturbing consequences. Regardless of Damon's feelings for Katherine at this point, he couldn't prevent the stirring he felt at the erotic image of her nude in the tub with strategically placed bubbles stimulating his imagination. "Umm, I'm going down to the living room to have a drink. I'll leave you two alone." Damon made a quick retreat with Katherine's mocking laugh echoing in his ears.

Elena curled her hands into fists, trying to control her irritation. "I see you managed to help yourself to some champagne, how did you manage that?" she asked.

Katherine chuckled, "That was easy. All I had to do was to suggest to Caroline to help herself and she was all too happy to browse through the cellar and bring up all sorts of lovely choices. The thing about compelling someone to behave a certain way, Elena, is you have to be careful about loop holes. Oh, rest assured, I have been very nice to Caroline while you were gone. I've had a really nice time, actually, although she does like to talk. I declare, the girl does not have a filter, at all! Oh, by the way, she is in a snit with you about something though. She was really PO'ed about something or other dealing with Billy and Damon when I met her for lunch. I was sitting there, behaving myself when she stormed up to me and started lecturing me about how you were not being fair to Damon or Billy and she couldn't understand at all what was happening with you. Then she went on about how she would always be your friend no matter what, but she just hated to see you screwing up your life this way. I swear the girl really does NOT have a filter." Katherine took a sip of champagne and smiled at Elena mischievously.

Elena was confused, "Billy, who's Billy?"

"She's probably referring to Billy Sutherland. Billy and I hooked up a few days ago and have been seeing each other," Katherine replied, nonchalantly.

A feeling of dread was beginning to overwhelm Elena. "Hook up? Exactly what do you mean, 'hook up'?"

Katherine shrugged. "Well what did you expect? Surely you didn't think I'd just hang out here that would have been so boring. Right after you and Damon left, I decided to go party. Billy was there, so we danced and hung out and, well, you know, hooked up. Whenever I wasn't with Caroline, then Billy and I got together. Do you know, I actually think I was Billy's first? He lacked experience and endurance, but he made up for it with enthusiasm. He is certainly a cooperative learner, I'll give him that." Katherine chuckled as she observed Elena's mortification.

"This is a disaster!" moaned Elena. "You say Caroline knows?"

"Well, nobody can keep quiet about anything in this town. You're quite a catch you know, having been a cheerleader and all. I guess Billy had to brag about his conquest. What's the matter Elena? You don't like the idea of having the reputation of a girl with round heels ready to fall on her back and spread her legs for any young stud? Tsk tsk. I imagine Damon is going to be annoyed at being the cuckolded boyfriend."

Katherine's expression changed from mocking amusement to anger. "Loop holes, Elena," she snapped. "When you compel someone you better watch out for loop holes. You think I'm just going to lie down and let some shit of a girl compel me to behave? You're earlier instinct was right, Elena, we can be useful to each other. But don't forget, just because I'm mortal, doesn't erase 500 years of outwitting vampires a lot more clever than you and your lover Damon. We can cooperate or give each other hell, but you better treat me with respect. I figure I have about 15 to 20 years of causing you all kinds of mischief before time begins to catch up with me. I'd rather spend it in more pleasant occupations, but if you want a cat fight, well that's alright to." Katherine stood up out of the tub, wrapped herself in a towel, grabbed the champagne and began to walk out of the room. "You can have the tub now, I'm going to go down and have a drink with Damon." Katherine paused to consider, "I wonder how difficult it would be to keep Damon guessing who he really is with?"

As Katherine left the room, Elena looked around desperately for something to throw at her. Not finding anything, she was reduced to simply clenching both fists in anger and shouting out, "BITCH!" Unfortunately for Elena, Katherine heard and laughed mockingly as she went down the stairs, literally gaining the last laugh. Elena considered what to do next. She trusted Damon completely but she wasn't so stupid as to allow Katherine to have a leisurely drink dressed only in a bath towel. She wasn't about to join them as she was either; sweaty, dirty with road grime, in clothes rumpled from the long day in the car. The bubble bath was no longer a possibility, she would have to settle for a quick shower. As she was showering, she remembered a night gown she had purchased from Victoria Secret when she and Damon first started sleeping together. That was before she discovered Damon didn't require any additional enticements, so she hadn't worn it yet. This was a perfect opportunity. In spite of herself, Elena grinned. Poor Damon, she could imagine his discomfort with her curled in his lap in sexy lingerie and Katherine in a bath towel sitting across from him. She put on the night gown, added a touch of makeup and perfume and was ready in no time. She had considered drying her hair but decided the wet look with the night gown had a more intimate look.

Elena's apprehension was eased a good bit when she saw the scene in the living room. Katherine was standing next to the piano and Damon was staring intently into his drink. They seemed to be ignoring each other, there was no interaction between them. As she entered the room, Damon looked up and stared at her transfixed. He was mesmerized as she strolled across the room and settled comfortably in his lap. Katherine smiled sardonically and lifted her glass to Elena in salute. "I guess I'll go get dressed, and then we'll all have a glass of champagne to celebrate."

Elena was afraid to ask, but she couldn't resist. "What are we going to celebrate?"

"Something happened to me this morning that hasn't happened in 500 years." Katherine paused for effect and then announced, "I started my period this morning! I am a fully functional, mortal, fertile woman! When I first noticed, it scared the hell out of me. It's been so long, I'd forgotten all about it. Then I realized what the blood meant. Do you know, I actually sat down and cried? I haven't cried in centuries, but the simple return of my cycle was overwhelming. Then, once the tears started, I couldn't stop. I started crying for the little baby I was never allowed to hold. I cried for … , well never mind what else I cried for, just that I had a real good cry, that's all. In any case, I want to celebrate, and since you, my dear doppelganger descendant, are the closest thing to family that I have, we're going to celebrate together."

After Katherine left the room, Damon whispered in Elena's ear, "That nightgown is incredible. How come you wore it now, of all times?"

Elena giggled, "I just wanted to torture you, that's all."

"Go ahead and chain me to the wall," replied Damon. "What are we going to do about Katherine? I overheard you two talking upstairs. I guess she's rather made a mess of things."

Elena nodded. "Yes she has, but I'm not sure what to do. When I first walked in the room, I was determined to throw the bitch out. But after the last announcement, I'm not sure. In a strange way, she is family, kind of. She's all alone. I can't figure out what's an act and what's sincere. We don't have to decide anything right now, we can wait and see."

Katherine returned in a modest, mid-length navy blue dress with a halter top. It was attractive without being provocative. It occurred to Elena that Katherine may be signaling for a truce. Katherine poured two glasses of champagne, one for herself and one for Elena and gave it to her. Then she lifted her glass in a toast, "To family, present and future." Elena and Damon acknowledged the toast. For a moment Elena felt a lump in her throat as she acknowledged that for her, there would be no future family. Katherine realized and said quickly, "I'm sorry, I didn't intend that as a dig."

"I know, Katherine. You seem very excited at the prospect of children. I have to say, I'm surprised."

"Not nearly as surprised as I am. When you know something's not possible you put it out of your mind. Then when all of a sudden it becomes possible, the desire comes flooding in. It can be overwhelming."

"I hate to be a wet blanket," interjected Damon. "But, you are missing an important ingredient."

"You mean a father." Katherine laughed. "I have to admit, I haven't worked out what I want to do there. In today's time there are options that didn't exist when I was 17. I could go for just a donor, someone like Billy, and skip the whole two parent family bit. However, maybe I can actually fall in love again and have a regular family. I don't know. I have a little time, not much, but a little."

"You seem to be reconciled to being a mortal," queried Elena.

Katherine shrugged, "You seem to be reconciled to being a vampire."

Elena understood immediately. Katherine and she have had very different lives, even after excluding the 500 year difference in age. They had very different values as well. But maybe being doppelgangers goes deeper than appearances. Maybe it includes the ability to accept whatever happiness comes their way. "Have you given any thought what you're going to do now?"

Katherine nodded. "I have to square things with Klaus, somehow. Now that I'm mortal, I'm hoping he won't be as hell bent on punishing me. If not," Katherine shrugged, "well, he might as well kill me and get it over. As a mortal, I don't have time to waste being on the run."

Damon spoke up, "I think we can help you there. Klaus called earlier, he wants to talk. He's mellowed some, and may be agreeable to letting your mortality be sufficient punishment."

"I hope so," replied Katherine. She glanced uncertainly at Elena, "The other thing is, I wasn't joking about what I said earlier, you're the only family I have. I'd like to start over with you." Then Katherine's face hardened, "Remember this though, I'm not going to be your toy puppet. I'm not going to be compelled here, and compelled there. If that's the way it will be, then we are going to have issues."

"How can we know if we can trust you?" asked Damon.

Katherine nodded at Elena, "How much did she trust you in the beginning and now look at you."

Damon winced at her point, glanced at Elena and shrugged.

"What can I say?" replied Elena. "She is family, I guess."


	5. Repairing the Damage

Repairing the Damage

Damon woke up the next morning with the smell of burned bacon wafting through the house. This was certainly an unusual experience in the Salvatore home. He gently disentangled himself from Elena, put on some shorts and went down to investigate. He found Jeremy and Katherine together in the kitchen.

"You see, Katherine, the trick is not to overcook it. Even though it looks like it still could cook longer, that's just in the grease. When you take it out of the pan, it will get stiff."

Amazingly to Damon, Katherine was paying close attention. Jeremy noticed Damon come in. "You know Katherine, for a vampire, Damon is a good cook."

"I'm a good cook vampire or not," Damon growled. "When did you guys become chummy?"

"Since I realized I was hungry and that I haven't cooked in centuries," Katherine explained. "I'd burnt several pieces of bacon until Jeremy woke up and offered to help. Do you want some?" Katherine teased.

Damon shook his head, "No thanks."

Katherine chuckled, "I had forgotten how monotonous a vampire's diet can be. My mouth is actually watering in anticipation for Jeremy's bacon and the omelet he promised."

Soon they were sitting down together for breakfast, Jeremy and Katherine were anyways. Damon was treating himself to his normal bourbon and water.

"Is it ever too early for you to have a drink?" asked Katherine.

Damon paused and looked at his glass. Maybe it was too early. He dumped it into the sink and sat down.

"What is that smell?" Elena asked walking into the kitchen. "Who burnt the bacon?"

Jeremy pointed at Katherine, his mouth full.

"You actually tried to cook?"

Katherine shrugged, "I have to learn to take care of myself. Oh, it's almost 9 o'clock. Elena, You have a date with Billy at 10. He's meeting you at the Mystic Grill. I think he's planning a hike and a picnic. You don't want to be late."

"You have got to be kidding! What's his phone number? There's no way I'm going on a picnic with him."

"Here, use my phone, he thinks that is your number." Katherine grinned. "Where are you going? Aren't you going to call him?" she called as Elena stormed out of the kitchen.

"So you can listen in? Yeah, right."

Elena found Billy's name in the phone contact list and pressed the speed dial. It only rang twice when Billy answered. "Hi sweetheart, it's great that you called, I was just about to call you. There are some things you need to be sure to bring for our hike."

"Look, uh, Billy," Elena started.

"Most importantly," Billy interrupted. "You need to pack some water. It's going to be hot today."

"Billy, I can't go hiking with you today." Elena stated.

"Why not? We had this all planned out," Billy complained.

"Look, let's meet at the Mystic Grill at 10 like we planned and I'll explain," replied Elena.

"Fine, this is really disappointing Elena. I thought you wanted to do this."

"I'll explain at 10, Billy, good bye" Elena stated firmly.

"Bye," replied Billy.

"Take my advice, it's just like taking off a band-aide. Break it to him short and firm. The quicker the better," advised Katherine from behind.

Elena whirled around, she almost smacked her, she was so annoyed. Things had looked promising between them last night, now she was being such a pain. Elena noticed Jeremy and Damon grinning at her from the kitchen. "What is just so damn funny?" she asked. Not waiting for an answer she stormed up the stairs to the bedroom to get dressed.

Elena was trying to decide what to wear when Damon came into the room. "I'm sorry Elena, do you want me to come along?"

Elena nodded. "Don't come with me. Come a little later. I might need your help if Billy proves to be hard headed."

"What are going to tell him?"

"I haven't decided. Whatever I say, I'm going to look stupid or worse. When this is over, I'm going to give Jeremy a piece of my mind. He was supposed to be keeping an eye on her."

"Well look, Elena, I'm meeting with Klaus a little bit later around lunch to see what he wants."

Elena nodded, worried. "Do you think there are going to be any problems?"

Damon shrugged. "There is only one way to find out."

Elena reached up and pulled Damon's head down for a kiss. "For luck, for both of us." She finished dressing and went downstairs. Jeremy stopped her.

"Hey Elena. Billy is actually a pretty good guy. Don't be too hard on him, ok? This isn't really his fault."

"No, it's not his fault," snapped Elena, her annoyance at the situation resurfacing. "Where were you when Katherine was out seducing children? I thought you were keeping an eye on her."

Jeremy raised his hands in protest. "Hey, Billy's the same age as you were when you started dating Stefan. Besides, I was watching out for Caroline. How was I supposed to know Katherine was going to, well you know. "

"Yes, I know very well, Jeremy. Thanks a lot."

Katherine strolled in at that time. "Just remember, the band-aide approach, Elena. Good luck great-great-, how many greats do you think there are? Oh well, we'll just leave at great-granddaughter."

"We'll just leave it at Katherine and Elena, if you don't mind." Elena left, not giving Katherine the chance of a comeback.

It was 5 after the hour when she arrived at the Mystic Grill. When she went inside she hesitated. She really couldn't recall what Billy looked like. She saw a likely looking young guy sitting by himself in the back. Hoping she wasn't setting herself up for more embarrassment, she headed his way.

She had just taken a few steps when a voice called out behind her, "Hey Elena, here I am. Sorry I'm a little late."

She turned and recognized Billy. She remembered him now from high school. He and Jeremy used to hang out some. "Hi Billy."

Billy frowned at her. "It looked like you were going over to talk to Andy. I didn't know you knew him."

"No, I don't know him. I just thought I saw a likely looking table, but it's already taken," explained Elena, recovering quickly.

"Well here's a table over here. Do you want me to order you anything?" Elena shook her head no. As they sat down, she noticed Damon had entered and was sitting at the bar.

"OK, so what's happened that you're not going on our hike? I thought you really wanted to do this," asked Billy.

"Look Billy, Damon is back in town and we're back together. So, we can't see each other anymore."

Billy was stunned for a moment, then his face reddened in anger. "What's going on Elena? You told me you and Damon had broken up, now you're back together? We were just together yesterday and everything was great between us."

"I guess, I was using you Billy. I'm terribly sorry. I was getting back at Damon through you and it all got out of hand. Damon and I are together and so you had best move on and forget about me."

Billy sat back in his chair dumbfounded. "Elena, I had always thought you were pretty classy. Apparently you're just a slut," he answered angrily. "You slept with me just to get back at your boyfriend? I don't believe it." Billy noticed Damon at the bar. "Does he know what kind of a whore you are?"

Elena paled at the accusations. She had never felt so ashamed in her life and she hadn't even done anything wrong. Tears formed in her eyes as she replied softly, "I understand why you are angry. I'm very sorry. Good bye Billy." She got up from the table and left the Grill blindly. Billy started to follow after her but Damon quickly blocked his path. Billy never could figure out how Damon was able to get in front of him so easily.

Damon grabbed Billy by the shirt, leaned in close, and spoke softly in his ear. "I know exactly what Elena did and didn't do. You should be very careful how you judge people when you don't know anything about it. So far, none of this has been your fault. If you leave it alone, it will stay that way. If you pursue this, there will be consequences. Elena and I love each other very much. That's all you need to know." Damon let go of Billy so suddenly he almost fell. Damon turned, threw some money on the bar and left.

Damon spotted Elena's car and saw her in it. She was looking in her purse for something, probably her keys. He slid into the passenger's side of the car. "He had no call for speaking to you that way. Sure, from his point of view he got dumped. Big deal. Even if you had slept with him, it wouldn't excuse him talking to you like that. There was a day when I would have ripped his heart out."

Damon's anger made Elena feel better. She smiled and touched his arm. "Well don't, at least that parts over. It might have gone better, but at least it's over. I need to find Caroline and fix things with her. When are you meeting with Klaus?"

Damon glanced at his watch. "In about an hour."

Elena nodded. "I'll meet you at the house after."

Damon left the car while Elena was calling Caroline on her phone.

It had rung a couple of times before Caroline picked up. "I'm not talking to you Elena." Elena had to smile at the typical contradiction between what Caroline said and did.

"Caroline, please. I need to explain. Give me a chance. By the way, I've broken things off with Billy."

"Really? You broke up with Billy? I was hoping that you were going to … well I should have known, what are going to tell Damon? I'm not going to get involved with keeping your sleazy secrets, Elena."

"Wow Caroline, that was harsh, but you don't have to worry. Damon knows everything that happened."

"Uh oh. He better not have hurt Billy. I'll never forgive you if he has."

Elena was beginning to lose patience. "Caroline, are you at home? I'd like to come over there and talk about it. I don't want to have to talk about this over the phone."

"Yes, Elena, I'm home. Mom's not here, she's out doing her sheriff stuff which is probably for the best. If we have to talk, then come over."

It only took a few minutes for Elena to arrive at the Forbes home. Caroline was waiting for her outside. She was standing in front with her arms crossed. Elena knew she was waiting for the opportunity to give her 'I'm only lecturing you for your own good, because I love you and you're my best friend' talk. Before Caroline could get started, Elena blurted out, "I didn't sleep with Billy, Katherine did."

Caroline dropped her arms in shock. "Katherine! How did Katherine get involved? Where've you been?"

"Damon and I went to New York for a vacation. We've been gone exactly a week. We got in last night and Katherine told us what she had done. She did it to get back at me for compelling her to do something for me."

"We've been hanging around together all week, and all the time it was Katherine? Why was she doing that? I mean I get her wanting to embarrass you. You're like her number one enemy. But she has been super nice to me. Why would she bother?"

"Well yes, um, I guess she, um, well, how did it go?"

"What?"

"How did it go with her being friendly and all?"

All of sudden Caroline became very suspicious of her best friend. "Elena, what is going on?"

Elena became very interested in some cracks in the sidewalk, anything to avoid meeting Caroline's eyes. She answered slowly, "You see Caroline, I kind of was wondering how well you and Katherine could get along. You know without all the past getting in the way."

"The past, you mean, for example, the part of her killing me. You wanted to see how we'd get along without that part of the past getting in the way?" Caroline asked sarcastically.

'Well, Caroline, you're not exactly dead, really."

Caroline was dangerously calm at this point. "Let me get this straight. You planted a pathological killer with me for a week to see how well we would get along. That sounds pretty reasonable to me. After all, what could possibly happen? She killed me before so I could be the vampire sacrifice for Klaus, she helped change Jenna to a vampire, to help Klaus, she killed Jeremy to get the cure, so why not just slip her back into your best friend's life? Of course, it all makes perfect sense, if you're insane!"

"Look Caroline, this is a screwed up world we live in, you know that. Things change. Katherine is a human now, and that has really changed things for her. She's very vulnerable. She can't really hurt us now."

"Oh really, how did things go with you and Billy?"

"Yes, she can cause me problems, of course. But it didn't really hurt me."

Caroline looked at Elena suspiciously. "What's going on Elena? Why are you defending Katherine? There is something you're not telling me."

"I'm not going to college with you, Caroline."

"What are you talking about? You have to go to college. Everybody goes to college. We've got it all planned out. We're going to be roommates. You're not thinking clearly, it's this infatuation with Damon. He's screwing everything up!"

"Yes, it has to do with Damon and I, but it' not just an infatuation Caroline. You've got to accept that. He's my life now. Going to college right now is just the wrong thing for me."

Caroline sat down on the steps and tried to gather her thoughts. Nothing ever happened the way things were supposed to. "OK I get it, Damon is the center of your world now, but what I don't understand is, what's this got to do with Katherine?"

"Bonnie is not going to go to college either."

Suddenly Caroline felt the wave of loss washing over her. Her two best friends were abandoning her. This wasn't supposed to ever happen. Part of how Caroline had reconciled herself to being a vampire was the realization that at least Elena and her could be best friends forever. Sure, there would be the annoying boyfriend now and then, but she and Elena would be forever. Suddenly, Caroline realized that wasn't how things were going to happen.

"So what am I supposed to do? I really do want to go to college. I've been thinking about it, I want to study medicine. Now how am I supposed to do that? I can't chance getting along with a normal human roommate. I was counting on you and Bonnie, you are my best friends."

Elena sat down next to her and embraced her. "I know, Caroline. I'm sorry. I've been very selfish. I thought that if I could set you up with Katherine, it would be all right. However, I know I wasn't really trying to help you, I was just trying to avoid feeling guilty."

Caroline looked at Elena in confusion. "Katherine wants to go to college?"

Elena nodded, "I think so. I know she's trying to figure out how to make a life for herself, now that she's human."

The ramifications of Katherine being human began to sink in. Caroline grinned suddenly, "That's right, she's human now. Can she be compelled?"

Elena grimaced. "Yes, she can be compelled, but I'd advise being careful about doing that. The whole mess with Billy was because she was pissed off about being compelled. She may be human, but she is not stupid."

Caroline's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "So this whole week of being nice to me, that was your compulsion?"

Elena nodded miserably. "To some degree, yes. I was pretty clumsy in how I did it, so I'm not sure how much was me and how much was Katherine."

Caroline stood up. "I've got a lot to think about, Elena. I'm still mad at you, but I understand. We're still friends." They hugged and Caroline went back into the house.

Elena breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe things were going to work out after all.

Klaus Asks for Advice

In the meantime, Damon was approaching the old ruined church with the tombs beneath. For some reason, this was where Klaus had requested they meet. Klaus had explained he didn't want anyone, especially Caroline, to know he was there. Damon arrived early, hoping to be there before Klaus arrived but saw that Klaus had beaten him to it. He was lounging against one of the boulders surrounding the entrance to the tomb. Klaus heard Damon approaching and stood up to greet him.

"Damon, I'm glad you came. I'm surprised you didn't bring any of your allies as backups. I'm touched that you trust me."

Damon shrugged. "You saved my life from those werewolf dipped bullets, so I owed you. I couldn't think of any reason for any subterfuge that I should worry about so I came. Although 'trust' is rather strong."

Klaus chuckled. "Well, I've asked to talk to you because, incredibly, you seem to have experience in a subject that I am severely lacking."

Damon's curiosity was certainly aroused, "Well Klaus, go ahead, I'm waiting, amaze me."

Klaus hesitated, paced a few steps, and turned back to Damon. "It's Caroline, she has really gotten into my thoughts. I don't really know what to do about her. I'd like to forget her, but somehow she keeps coming back."

Damon couldn't help but chuckle, although the last thing he wanted was to make Klaus angry. "You think I'm an expert on Caroline?"

"No, of course not, she can't stand you, actually. It's you and Elena that I need to understand. When I first arrived at Mystic Falls, Elena was in love with Stefan. She was fond of you of course. But I understand that that had occurred only recently. Now Stefan is a distant memory, and you and Elena are inseparable. How did you do it? I know there is no magic that can make that happen. What was your strategy?"

Damon sat down on a log nearby. If he lived a thousand years, he would never have expected this. "First of all, don't you think you should be asking Elena? After all, she's the one who did the choosing."

Klaus snapped his fingers in response, chagrined that this had not occurred to him. "Of course, you're correct. Will she talk to me? Will you help me to arrange a meeting? Wait, you said 'first of all' is there something else?"

"Yes, we need a favor first. Then we'll do what we can to help you. But you have to understand, Caroline is not someone you can just program to feel the way you want her too. There are no guarantees."

"What's your favor," Klaus asked guardedly. "I should think saving your life was a pretty large favor."

Damon nodded. "Hear me out, if you have an objection, then I'll reconsider. It involves Katherine. Drop your vendetta against her. She's human now, so she only has a limited number of years to live. Consider that her punishment and let her live the rest of her life in peace."

Klaus considered carefully. "That is an interesting request, coming from you. What does Elena think of this? Does she know about it?"

Damon nodded. "It's her idea, her request actually."

"They were sworn enemies, why the change in heart?"

Damon knew Klaus was fishing for information. For Klaus, information was power. You needed to be careful what you revealed to him. But Damon decided that complete candor was the best course of action. If Klaus could be placed more firmly as an ally, that had to be useful someday. "Since Katherine is human, the balance of strength is very much in our favor. She's still dangerous but not as much a threat. Having a doppelganger twin available may prove invaluable."

Klaus raised his head back and laughed. "Is that your idea or Elena's?"

"Elena's"

"She's a shrewd one, much like her doppelganger twin Katherine. Here's what I'll do. Caroline has a reason to want Katherine punished more so than I. If she agrees, I'll accept Katherine's human mortality as sufficient punishment."

Damon nodded his acceptance. "I'll help you get with Elena. Let me tell you one thing that will help you with Caroline. You've got the wrong approach if you want to get anywhere with her."

"Really? What is that?"

"Don't treat Caroline as a prize to be won. It's a contradiction, but if you want Caroline to feel towards you as Elena feels towards me, your only objective needs to be her happiness regardless of who she ends up with."

Klaus sneered, "You mean, as the cliché goes, 'To win her I have to give her up."

"That's a rather simplistic view, although it's on the right track. I think it would be more accurate to say, 'If she wins, you win." Damon prepared to leave. "If Caroline agrees about Katherine, I'll have her call you. I'll talk to Elena and we'll work out a meeting time and place. Until then, Klaus."

"Until then," replied Klaus, thoughtfully.


	6. Katherine Makes Plans

Katherine Makes Plans

When Katherine's phone rang she checked to see who was calling. When she saw it was Caroline she let it go to voice mail. She wanted to sense what Caroline's mood was before she talked to her. Damon had told her the results of his discussion with Klaus. After last week, Katherine was hopeful she could win Caroline over, but there was too much riding on it to act in haste. Since she had become human, Katherine had been giving serious thought regarding her life to date. The constant threat of Klaus's retribution had overshadowed almost everything she had done. If she was honest with herself, though, she had to admit that not all that had gone wrong could be laid at Klaus's feet. There had been several times when Klaus had completely lost her trail and she had enjoyed decades of peace and quiet. Even in those cases she had managed to make important relationships go sour.

When Katherine saw Caroline's voice mail had been completed, she entered her password to listen. "Katherine, this is Caroline. I would like to get with you to discuss some possibilities. I've talked to Elena and realized that things may possibly change between us. We may be in a position where we each have need of the other. Give me a call." Katherine thought seriously about how to proceed. Her track record with men was pretty poor. She did better with women. She had managed to be good friends with both Pearl and Isobel, although in the end she had betrayed them both. The problem was, she tended to get too attached to the men in her life. She had been able to maintain an objective distance from her women friends. Her life was defined by a consistent pattern of men abandoning her and her betraying other women.

Katherine decided that there was no sense putting off talking to Caroline. Reluctantly, she decided that candor would be the best strategy for the time being. She dialed Caroline's number. Caroline immediately picked up.

"Katherine, what were you doing, screening my call?"

Katherine sighed, everybody was always so suspicious. Oh well, be candid Katherine. "Yes, Caroline, I suppose I was. If you were angry with me, I wanted a little warning."

"I have a right to be angry, don't you think?"

Katherine wasn't going to crawl, no matter what the stakes. "Everybody has a right to be angry with someone, Caroline. They just get over it. If you want me to apologize, then yes, I'm sorry. I didn't kill you out of meanness, I did it because Klaus insisted. Are you going to stay mad at Klaus too?"

There was silence on Caroline's end. Katherine willed herself not to speak. If she talked first she knew the conversation would go downhill. Finally, Caroline spoke first, "All right, let's leave that for now. Elena said that you may be interested in going to college, is that true?"

This was news to Katherine. However, the idea had a certain appeal. It made a lot of sense actually. "It's a possibility. To be honest, I haven't really thought it all through. Why do you ask?"

"I've just discovered that I need a roommate. Someone who I don't have to worry about going nuts over my being a vampire, thanks to you. If you're going to college, maybe we can be roommates. After all, it would be the least you could do since you're the cause of my problem."

Katherine struggled to control her irritation. Was this the way her life was going to be? Having to swallow these little winey barbs about how badly she screwed up somebody else's life? Well, she could manage for a time. After all, Caroline would probably dump her as soon as she found a roommate who could handle being friends with a vampire. Katherine would be happy to help her with that.

"It's a possibility, Caroline. However, there are some issues to be resolved. I'd have to cobble together the admissions application documentation somehow, but with some vampire help I'm sure I can manage it. You want to meet together to discuss it?"

"I think that's a good idea. There's one thing, Katherine. I need to know whether I can trust you. Elena said she made you angry for compelling you to do something. I'm going to need to compel you to tell the truth before we go any further."

Katherine's skin crawled at the idea of being compelled at anything. The idea of losing any control of her actions was abhorrent to her. However, she really needed Caroline's help with Klaus. "Okay, Caroline. But like I told Elena, if you abuse this, we'll have issues. I'm not going to sit still and be your puppet." Katherine thought for a second and then decided to show a gesture of good faith. "I might as well tell you, I need your vote of good will to get Klaus to accept my being human as sufficient punishment."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Damon asked Klaus to give up on having me punished and Klaus agreed so long as it was ok with you."

"I didn't know Klaus was in town. You mean Klaus is letting me decide about you?"

"Yeah, looks like it. Listen, Caroline, I don't think Klaus wanted you to know about him being in town. If you tell him you know, it could cause problems, and not just with me."

"I think I understand. Makes me curious though, what is Klaus up to."

"He may tell you someday."

"Hah, not very likely. Oh well. Why don't you come over to my place and we can discuss things?"

"Sure, I'll see you soon, Caroline."

Katherine sat looking at her phone, lost in thought. That went well. Finally, Katherine may be free of Klaus. It was amazing how relatively easy it was happening. Katherine considered all the elaborate schemes and betrayals she had engineered and now here it was, simply landing in her lap. It was all because of her vulnerability as a human. There was a degree of strength in being vulnerable. Katherine understood all too well, that being vulnerable could also be fatal. There were many she knew who would cheerfully cut her throat given any opportunity. However, here, at Mystic Falls, there were others who were willing, even eager to be her allies, simply because she was vulnerable.

Katherine thought about Elena. She had never liked her. However, Katherine had learned that they're being doppelgangers went more than skin deep. Katherine knew that when Elena's back was against the wall she could be just as tough, just as ruthless, just as scheming as Katherine. If she were honest with herself, Katherine's biggest problem with Elena was envy. Elena's life was not any easier than Katherine's. Katherine realized that the last two years of Elena's life had been tougher than any two years that Katherine had experienced. It was the loyalty of her allies that Katherine envied. No wait, not allies, it was the loyalty of her friends. Katherine realized that the biggest difference between her and Elena was Elena's blind loyalty to her friends. That loyalty has led Elena to a love affair that was unprecedented among vampires. She couldn't think of another pair of vampires who clung together as fiercely as Damon and Elena.

Katherine wondered if she could do that. Since they were doppelgangers it must be in her, somewhere.


	7. Damon and Elena Make Plans

Making Plans Part 2

Elena and Damon spent the remainder of the week discussing specifics regarding how they would hunt together. They were in agreement that they had to define boundaries. They could not afford to improvise as they went along. There must be restrictions. After all, they were going to be methodically taking human life. Both Elena and Damon were aware of the edge they were proposing to travel. They both knew that stepping off the edge would mean becoming worse than the monsters they had vowed to destroy.

Elena learned that Damon had an innate ability to grasp abstract concepts, spot inconsistencies of thought, and realize the overall strategic consequences of their decisions. There were many times when they found themselves in passionate disagreement. Elena was surprised to discover that she enjoyed their heated discussions. She appreciated Damon's quickness of wit and how she found herself stimulated by his insights. She learned to respect and trust Damon's judgment. She realized that when they saw things differently, it was because they had encountered issues that had not occurred to either of them. It was usually Damon who would realize a missing concept or issue that led to the solution to their disagreement falling into place.

Damon had realized early they had decided declaring war on humans who had given themselves over to evil. If they saw it as warfare, many of the moral ambiguities faded away. The instincts he had developed as a field commander during the Civil War had applications to what they were proposing to do. Although the specific problems were different, the mental discipline applied. Elena had a clear picture in her heart and mind regarding what they were meant to do, although many times she had trouble articulating them to Damon. Damon trusted her heart and he didn't challenge her, only questioned her in order to understand.

Throughout their discussions, there were two issues that refused to be resolved. One pertained to Elena's insistence that they take the time to extract the complete story of their prey. The other pertained to Elena's insistence that it must be her who was the instrument of the final outcome. They had many heated arguments about both, the first question was resolved in a very disturbing way.

"It doesn't make sense to me why you insist on hanging around with these creeps to hear their story. Why do you care? We increase our own risk, and I can see the pain it causes you to understand their past," protested Damon.

"We must," exclaimed Elena. "How else can we know that their deaths are required?"

"Because it's obvious! Once they've told us what they've done, we know they deserve it."

"Do we? How do we know that, Damon? How do we know what they deserve? This is so important, why can't you see it?"

"Because it's coming from Stefan," Damon insisted. "It's part of this guilt he insisted on wearing. It's the one thing about him that you can't seem to shake."

"You're wrong Damon. I feel remorse, yes, but I don't carry Stefan's guilt. You and I, we're the same, Damon. We know what we've done. We know what we are. We know what's in our hearts. We've done rotten evil things. We probably will do rotten evil things. But, on a day to day basis, we decide not to, and if we fail and do something we regret, we deal with it and go on. We find whatever happiness we can and accept whatever consequences that comes our way. Stefan doesn't understand what he is. So when he does things that he regrets, he convinces himself it wasn't him, it was his vampire self, or something else. He wears his guilt because he can't understand why he can't control the evil inside. He believes he can control it and he can't. We face the evil inside us and that's why we have to listen to the evil inside our prey."

Damon shook his head, failing to grasp the point Elena was so earnestly trying to make. "I just don't get it Elena. I understand your primary desire is to protect the future victims of these monsters. But, isn't it also about seeing they get what's coming to them? Why is that so bad?"

Finally, Elena lost patience with him. Before Damon had a chance to react, she broke off the leg of a table, shoved him against the wall, placed the leg in his hand and then against his heart. Holding him with a strength she didn't know she had, she glared at him and hissed, "You want to give the monsters what's coming to them, Damon? Then start with yourself. Who have you killed? What about Vicki, what about Lexi, what about Mason? What do you deserve, Damon? What do I deserve?"

Elena's passion was so intense that for a moment Damon was willing to comply. Damon's hands tightened on the stake and began to apply pressure to thrust it into his body. Elena realized the meaning of his tension, and with a cry of fear, snatched the stake out of his hand and embraced him.

"What were you doing Damon? I didn't mean that. Don't ever even think of that again, I couldn't bear it. I don't understand what happened. How could you have ever taken me seriously?"

Damon was equally shaken as Elena. He had come close to actually stabbing himself in the heart. He didn't understand what had happened either. "I'm fine now, Elena. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm fine." He tried to ease the mood with some of his usual sardonic humor, "Don't worry. You taught me my lesson. I'm not the suicide type."

With her head resting against his chest, Elena whispered softly, "Don't you see Damon, neither you nor I have any right to say what someone else has coming to them. They can accuse us of being just as guilty. We only have the right to protect, nothing more."

Damon sighed, "Okay, Elena, you win. I think we've gone over this enough for today. Let's relax tonight, maybe watch a movie. I know, tomorrow, we can drive to Virginia Beach and spend the day."

Elena smiled in excitement. "That's a great idea! I've got a bikini I've wanted to show. It really rocks."

Damon chuckled, "To bad we're not in California and can go to one of those nude beaches."

Elena laughed archly, "You can see me naked any time. Just wait until you see me in a bikini."

It was only a two hour drive for them to Virginia Beach. They left early in the morning to beat most of the tourists. Elena laughed at Damon's expression when he saw her in the bikini. "See, sometimes what you can't see is more compelling than what you can." Unable to look away, Damon could only nod his head.

They spent several hours lying out on the beach, making out, and taking the occasional dip in the ocean to bring their passion under control. "We need a private beach somewhere. This is getting to be torture," grumbled Damon.

"Yes it is," sighed Elena. "But I think the reward tonight will be worth it," she promised.

"In the meantime, I'm going to take another swim. You want to come?" asked Damon.

"No, I'll stay here and watch."

As Damon entered the surf, Elena's hearing detected a suspicious conversation towards the parking lot. She looked around to identify the source and saw that it was a man and a boy walking away. The man had his arm around the boy. Elena could tell the boy was being forced to go with him. Together they went into one of the public baths. She quickly followed after to investigate.

When she arrived at the bath, she heard the boy begging the man to leave him alone, but the man was insisting. She crashed open the door and witnessed the man beginning to molest the boy. "Leave him alone, creep and stand over there." she spoke sharply. The man stood obediently and moved away from the boy. To the boy, Elena spoke, "Come here, honey. What is your name? "

"Samuel," he replied.

"Are you hear alone, Samuel?"

"No ma'am, I'm with my Mom and this man."

"Who is he?"

"He is Mr. Thomas, my Mom's boyfriend."

"Okay, Samuel, I want you to go get your Mom and bring her here, quickly."

As Samuel ran off, Elena dealt with Thomas. She followed the pattern she had established with Carl, and John and then waited outside the bath for Samuel and his mother.

When Samuel and his mother arrived, she spoke to them both, "You will not remember me at all. You saw Thomas talking with another man his age. Then he told you he was leaving with the other man for some business and that you should take yourself home." To Samuel's mother, she asked, "Do you have the keys to your car?" She nodded. Then to Samuel she said, "You will forget all the times Mr. Thomas has touched you. Do you understand?" Elena noticed the expression of shock on Samuel's mother's face. "That's right, your boyfriend has been molesting your son. But you're not going to remember anything. You are going to remember that you must always be vigilant in regards to your son's welfare. He must be made more important than your boyfriends. This must never be allowed to happen to him." The woman nodded.

"Where is Thomas?" she asked.

"You'll never see him again," replied Elena. She noticed Damon was approaching and told the two to leave immediately.

As they walked away, Damon asked her, "What's going on? Who are those two?"

Elena gestured with her head for him to go inside.

Damon went in and then came out quickly. "You should have called me for help. Anybody could have seen you."

Elena shrugged, "Nobody saw."

Damon hesitated, wanting to say more but instead asked, "Did you leave any evidence?"

Elena shook her head, "I was careful, just as you had said."

"I'll go get those kids over there to help."

Damon went to a cluster of teenage boys tossing a Frisbee and compelled them, "We're pulling a prank on a good friend. I want you to help with a mannequin we have over in the bath house."

Not having any choice, the 4 boys came over laughing and joking. Damon told them, "The mannequin is inside. I want you to place it on one of the toilets and close the stall door. Then you will not remember anything that happened here. You won't remember me, her, the mannequin, or anything else."

When they were finished, the boys went back to playing with their Frisbee and Daman and Elena gathered their things to go home.

"I'm sorry, Damon. I guess I spoiled the mood."

"If I know you, we'll get it back."

Elena smiled. That was a challenge that she would enjoy. "I'll give you a private showing of all my bikinis, especially, how to take them off."

Damon chuckled, "Now that is something I'll look forward to." Unfortunately, Damon had to speak his mind. "Elena, I just don't see why you insist on being the one to do this," he said gesturing towards the bath house. "I'm afraid of what it will do to you."

"I'm even more afraid of what it would do to you," was her reply.

"What makes you think you're better able to cope than me?" Damon challenged.

"I give them peace in the end. I don't think you have the compassion to do that."

"What does that mean? How do you give them peace? Why do you give them peace?"

"When their spirits let go at the very end, because I'm drinking their blood, our spirits touch. They touch the happiness I have with you, and it gives them peace."

"Why do you want to do that? They're monsters!"

"It helps me. It makes what I do feel right. I believe it makes it easier for them afterwards. I don't believe you can do that for them, Damon. If you do it, you'll just be killing. I don't believe you can give them any hope."

"You know, in my thoughts, I call you an angel."

Elena smiled and nodded. "Sometimes you talk in your sleep."

"At times like this, you become my angel of death."

Hurt, Elena's eyes welled with tears. "I know. How is it possible you can love me like you do?"

"It's not possible for it to be any other way."


	8. Elena Notices Changes

Elena Notices a Change

When Elena and Damon arrived home, Elena intended to take a short soak in the tub and then give Damon the bikini fashion show she had promised. She smiled in anticipation, expecting the show to last well into the night. Her expectations were dashed however when she discovered that once again Katherine had beat her to the tub.

"Seriously?" Elena exclaimed. "Why do you have to be taking a bath now for goodness sake!"

"What's wrong with now? Did you have an appointment?" Katherine replied defensively. "Really, Elena if you want to have dibs, all you have to do is say something."

Elena collected her thoughts. Katherine had a point, she had to concede. "I'd like to use the tub when you're finished," Elena replied meekly.

"There now, was that so hard?" Katherine asked humorously. "As a matter of fact, I'll let you have it now, if you would hand me that towel over there."

Elena reached for the towel as Katherine stood up and stretched immodestly. As Elena observed Katherine standing nude in the tub, she noticed something different about her, a sense of contentment. Elena was a little puzzled about how she knew, but she knew that Katherine was in an especially good mood. "Did you have a good day?" she asked.

"I sure did," Katherine exclaimed as she wrapped herself in the towel. "Caroline called, she's squared things between Klaus and I. For the first time that I can remember, I don't have him as a threat. Also, Caroline has agreed that we can room together at Whitmore College. I had to submit to her compulsion to get her to agree, but it was worth it! Now I've got to get my paper work together to get accepted. I'm going to need yours and Damon's help with that."

"What do you need us to do?"

"I need you to create a transcript and some other records to get accepted."

Elena nodded. Damon knew how to get all that done. They had talked about the need to create backup identities in any case. "I can get Damon to help with that," she replied. "Do you have any idea what you will study?"

Katherine laughed, "History of course. There are things I know that will really shake the academic world. I believe in 10 years I will have established a worldwide reputation for my work in European History."

As Elena prepared her bath, she smiled to herself. Sometimes she surprised herself, she was actually happy for Katherine. "Umm, Katherine?"

"Yes?"

"Damon and I would like to be left alone the rest of the night, okay?"

Katherine chuckled, "I guess I'm not the only one who had a good day."

"Well, it was interesting, anyway."

"I don't want to get in your way, I'll retreat discretely to my room, don't worry. Listen, Elena, if you want to put me under compulsion to be sure I'm telling the truth I don't mind, but if there is anything I can do to get you to trust me, I'd like to try."

Elena was touched by the humility that Katherine displayed in how she asked. "It's not that you have to pass a test, Katherine. It's more about really wanting to be trusted."

Katherine nodded. "Every one I've known, especially men, have set a mark that they expected me to meet. If I missed the mark, then they would be through with me. I've gotten so tired of trying to pass someone else's test. I want you to be able to trust me, Elena."

To Katherine's surprise Elena reached for her and gave her a hug. "I want to trust you, Katherine." When Elena drew back, she was surprised to realize that she could perceive a subtle change in Katherine's mood. Her contentment was stronger and there was optimism as well. There were other facets, but it was difficult for Elena to sort them out.

"What are you staring at?" Katherine asked.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're staring at me as if you can see through me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't mean to."

"What were you thinking about? You looked like you were a million miles away."

Elena thought for a moment, then on impulse she asked Katherine, "When you've killed, had you ever done so by completely drinking their blood?"

Katherine was nonplussed at the unexpected question. "Why in the world are you asking me that?"

Elena was sorry she asked, but now that she had, she pressed on. "I just want to have a better understanding of what I am."

"Why don't you ask Damon?"

"I want a woman's perspective. I think being a vampire for a woman is different than for a man. I think my drinking blood directly from a human is a different experience than it is for a man."

"I never thought about that before. In fact, I don't think any vampire has. You know, the relationship you and Damon have is pretty unique. To know him well enough to know what he experiences when he eats is pretty unusual. It's pretty personal."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry."

"That's all right. You weren't, I was just making an observation. You were asking if I had killed by drinking their blood. Yes I have, of course."

"You didn't find the experience, well, exhilarating?"

Katherine was astonished. "Elena! When you turned off your humanity, you really did go all out. I thought Damon and Stefan kept a tighter rein on you during that time."

Elena simply shrugged, she was relieved to allow Katherine to reach her own conclusion.

Katherine considered the question, "Hmm, no, I never experienced anything different. Oh, wait, you're asking if I have ever had anyone die while I was drinking his blood. No, I always pulled away before that. The experience always became too intimate for me to be that close. I just wanted their blood. I didn't want to actually KNOW them."

Elena nodded, a little disappointed.

Katherine couldn't leave it at that. "I gather you have had someone die, under your fangs, so to speak, and you found it exhilarating?"

Elena was mortified to have revealed this much about her. "Please don't tell anyone," she pleaded.

Katherine smiled. "Don't worry, I won't tell. I'm just reassessing who you really are. You do like to blaze new paths don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, vampires don't really like to talk about this, but I don't think they are particularly willing to be in that close contact when their prey dies."

Elena nodded her understanding.

"I gather you've been thinking about this. Have you reached any conclusions?"

"Of course. When something like this happens, you don't just put it out of your mind and forget it."

"I do," replied Katherine. "Take my advice, Elena, don't obsess about the past. You've got a great life, things like this can ruin it."

Elena noticed another change in Katherine's mood. Katherine was worried. Strangely, she found the knowledge comforting. Then she realized what she had been doing and asked herself 'What is going on with me?'

She woke up the next morning when Damon eased himself out of bed. "Hmm, don't get up, come back to bed," she complained.

Damon leaned over to give her a kiss. "Go back to sleep sleepy head, you had a busy night last night."

Elena stretched with pleasure as she remembered last night. They did have fun. She looked around and saw different articles of bikinis, and lingerie scattered around the room. She sighed, "I better get up and put everything away. As free as Katherine is about the house, I really don't want to listen to her idea of humorous observations about our sex life."

"We need to get her to find a place of her own," growled Damon.

"It won't be much longer," Elena replied. "She's going to college with Caroline."

"Really, so she worked everything out with Caroline and Klaus. You know, I'm glad for her sake. I hope she is able to make a go of it." Elena nodded her assent. "Oh, speaking of Klaus, you know he wants to talk to you."

Elena frowned, "I don't know what he expects me to tell him."

"He wants to know how I made you desperately in love with me."

"It was the sire bond," Elena teased. "You commanded me and I obeyed. What commands do you have for me, today. Master?" Elena asked mockingly.

"Wench," Damon laughed. "My command is for you to tell Klaus that I am simply the most wonderful vampire there is, and he would do well to follow my example."

"Woops, I think the sire bond just got broken. Sorry." Elena easily ducked the pillow Damon threw at her.

"In any case, Klaus is expecting to see you after lunch today, don't forget," he reminded her.

Elena went to the Mystic Grill for lunch. She would meet with Klaus in just a little bit. It was a hot day so Elena decided to order a pitcher of lemonade. She spotted the waiter across the room taking another couples order. She was still thinking about the lemonade when she waived at him to get his attention. Then the oddest thing happened. The waiter turned away from the couple in the middle of their discussing their order, went to the bar to fill a pitcher of lemonade, brought it to Elena and then went back to the couple. Elena poured herself a glass thoughtfully. On a hunch, she looked back at the waiter and said to herself 'I want you to stand on one leg.' Obediently, the waiter lifted his left leg up. Before he could fall, Elena thought 'Stand normally.' Again, the waiter obeyed, all without showing any sign of surprise at his odd behavior.

I wonder what else I can do, Elena asked herself. She looked around the restaurant trying to think of something else to try. She spotted a couple sitting together holding hands, obviously on a date. Elena picked out the girl and commanded with her thought, 'I want you to come here.' The girl let go of her dates hand, and asked him to let her out of the booth. Then she got up and walked over to Elena's table and stood there.

"What is your name?" Elena asked.

"Anna," was her reply.

"Please return to your date. If he asks why you came over, simply tell him I'm a friend of the family. My name is Elena."

Anna simply turned around and returned to her table. Her date asked her a question, she answered and they both turned around and waved at Elena. Elena couldn't help but giggle. Elena looked around and realized that if she really paid attention to a person, she could sense their overall mood. For example, right now, Anna was confused. The couple whose order had been interrupted so the waiter could get her lemonade was annoyed. All of a sudden Elena remembered the incident with Damon when he had almost stabbed himself. Had she been unwittingly compelling him? Then she dismissed the idea. He was a vampire. Only an Original could compel a vampire. Elena relaxed. She did not want to have that kind of power over Damon.

Elena spent the rest of the time, while drinking her lemonade, experimenting with her newfound ability to compel. All the while wondering how it had happened. She was confident that somehow it was related to how she had been killing her prey. This was one more thing she needed to discuss with Bonnie. She would have to have it out with Jeremy. She knew he was holding out something about her. She needed to find out what.

Elena glanced at her watch and realized it was time to meet with Klaus. As with Damon, Klaus was at the meeting place ahead of her. He came to greet her and shake her hand.

"Thank you for meeting with me. I'm glad we can be friends."

"Klaus, the only way we can be friends is if you give up involving us in your various schemes."

Klaus laughed, "Always to the point Elena. I like that about you. Well then, let me equally get to the point. Tell me why you gave up on Stefan and fell in love with Damon."

Suddenly Elena had an idea on how to explore the extent of her new ability. "We covered this with Rebekah, Klaus. She put me under compulsion and I revealed things I hadn't realized myself."

Klaus considered for a moment, "You'd be willing to have me do this?"

Elena shrugged, "Like I would have a choice? Damon told me that this is all about Caroline. I don't want you acting on information that I give about my life and then you find out it doesn't apply to Caroline and then you think that I deceived you somehow."

Klaus nodded. "That is reasonable, very well." His voice changed in it timbre when he spoke, "Elena you will answer my questions completely, truthfully and without evasion."

Elena felt the force of Klaus's compulsion, resisted it, and felt its force turn away. She almost shouted with elation but was able to just contain herself. Instead she nodded meekly.

"Why do you love Damon so well?"

Elena considered for a moment. She had no reason to lie. She was proud to love Damon. "I love Damon because he loves me unconditionally. He doesn't want to own me. He doesn't care whether I'm good or bad. He doesn't care if I'm nice to him or mean to him, I know he will love me. Not to say he is a door mat. But even when he is angry with me, he still loves me. Because he loves me he has become a better man. He doesn't try to impress me, or manipulate me. But because of me, he listens to his conscience and makes better choices. How can I not love a man who will do that because of me."

In spite of his natural cynicism, Klaus was impressed with her answer and realized how high the bar was for him to get Caroline to feel the same way for him. Klaus realized that was what he wanted, for Caroline to feel for him like Elena felt for Damon.

"What about Stefan? What happened between you two?"

"It began when Stefan chose to save Matthew instead of me. I know that's what I asked him to do, but why would he listen to me? Damon would never have done that. Would you save someone else over Caroline if she asked you to?"

Klaus shook his head.

"Exactly, so why was Stefan able to? He could not have loved me as I wanted to be loved and done that."

"Then, when I became a vampire, he kept trying to fix me. Damon didn't think I needed fixing, he loved me no matter what. Stefan couldn't just love me. I had to measure up to some standard he set. He never got angry, or critical, he always seemed to understand. I got so sick of him understanding why I didn't meet his expectations. I got tired of always feeling like I needed to apologize. He just kept applying pressure. He made it easy for me to fall in love with Damon."

"Do I have a chance with Caroline?" asked Klaus.

Elena shrugged her shoulders. "I honestly don't know. Caroline is not ready to love anyone like I love Damon. She needs to mature, honestly. Perhaps, if you can always be there for her when she needs someone, yes you have a chance. If you're not willing to wait until she's ready, probably not."

"What do you suggest?"

"Be someone she can have fun with. Be someone around whom she can relax and be herself, and don't ever make her have to choose between you and her friends."

"You mean Tyler."

"I mean all of her friends, me, Bonnie, Jeremy, Stefan, even Damon. Klause you hold on to your vendettas tighter than people who care for you. That's the biggest difference between you and Damon. So long as your enemies are more important than your friends you'll never get what you want from Caroline."

Klaus grimaced. "That's asking a lot, but I think I have already started to do that," he replied. "Lately, it seems that satisfying my revenge has become less important."

"I hope so. Caroline likes you. It will be good for her if you're willing to be her friend. Oh, and Klaus?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for letting Katherine go, and most of all, thank you for saving Damon."

"This is an example of being a better man because of Caroline?"

Elena grinned. "Yes, I believe it is."

Klaus left, but Elena remained where she was to think. She had been candid with Klaus but not because she had been under compulsion. She was sure of it. She had felt it press upon her and then turn away. She wondered briefly if she could actually compel a vampire, possibly an original. She didn't dare try, except under the direst circumstances.

She needed to understand what was happening to her and Bonnie was the only one she knew who could help. Elena compressed her mouth in determination. Jeremy was going to have to tell her what was going on with Bonnie.


	9. Bonnie & Jeremy Make Plans

**Jeremy and Bonnie Make Plans**

"Elena's really getting insistent on getting with me to talk." Jeremy had just finished checking his text messages. "She knows that I've been holding out on her regarding what is happening with you. I'm going to have to come clean soon, Bonnie."

"Well, it's no wonder that she suspects something. You've talked to her about things you aren't supposed to know about, I don't know how many times. On top of that you've claimed not to know things that you're supposed to know. Elena is smart. She remembers stuff like that."

"It's hard," complained Jeremy. "There is too much to remember, I can't keep it all straight. In any case, she wants to talk to me tonight."

"You can't, Jeremy. It's still too soon. You need to avoid her."

"How am I supposed to do that? I'm living with her and Damon!"

"You need to go on a trip out of town someplace. I know, tell her you're going to North Carolina to see me."

"Where am I going to stay in North Carolina? Besides, that won't work, she'll insist on going with me."

"Not if you've already left. You can actually stay with my Aunt Susan whom I've said I'm staying with."

"I have no luggage, no money, and you want me to hop in the car right now and drive to Greensboro?"

"Yes, that's an excellent plan. You can get to my money and buy whatever you need on the way and I get to see my aunt, well, sort of get to see her." replied Bonnie excitedly.

"So, I'm just going to show up at your aunt's house, whom I've never met before, and invite myself to stay," Jeremy questioned. "You don't much care how stupid you make me look."

"Jeremy, it will be all right. I, that is you, will send her an email explaining that you will be in the area and ask if she won't mind letting you stay. She already knows how close we are. She'll be anxious to have you there just to find out more about you."

"How long will I have to stay away?"

"I'm not sure, two weeks at least, maybe three."

"Two or three weeks? Are you crazy? What am I going to do at your aunt's for that long? What is going on Bonnie? You seem to have a definite reason for this delay, rather than just putting off the inevitable."

Bonnie sighed, "Yes, I've been in touch with my ancestor, Emily Bennett. There's a lot of interest on this side regarding what happens to Elena."

"That doesn't sound good."

"I've learned a lot while I've been like this. I've learned my being here may be temporary, depending on what happens with Elena and Damon."

Instead of being happy for Bonnie, Jeremy felt his apprehension increase. "Please don't put me in a position where I have to choose between you and my sister, Bonnie. I can't say what I would do."

"'She' is a powerful force and 'She' is very interested in Elena and Damon, especially Elena."

"'She', you mean Emily?"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, not Emily, I only know her as 'She'. I haven't had contact with 'She', only with Emily. But Emily speaks of 'She' often. Emily is very subservient to 'She'. I've learned that it was 'She' who arranged for me to be trapped here. 'She' has a task for me to do regarding Elena, but Elena is not ready yet."

Jeremy yearned for the days when he did not know anything about the supernatural. Life had been much simpler then. "What task is that? Why can't people just leave Elena alone?"

"We're not talking about people here Jeremy. We're talking about forces and intentions that are way above us. I wouldn't worry too much about Elena. I know that Emily is very pleased with her. Emily has said many times how special Elena is to 'She'. Emily has also assured me that nothing would happen to Elena that is against her wishes."

"Yeah, well Elena was willing to be sacrificed to Klaus to protect her family, if you recall. Elena asked Stefan to save Matthew over her. I wouldn't put much reliance on Elena standing up for herself."

Bonnie smiled in spite of herself. "Elena's not very cooperative when people try to take care of her is she?"

"Exactly. Can you tell me anything about what is going on?"

"I don't know much Jeremy. I'm simply one of the pawns. Apparently, there has been an imbalance in nature for centuries. It has to do with the vampires. Somehow, things went really wrong when the vampires were created. Elena is important in making a correction, to bringing back balance. 'She' is the will behind creation. There is another will in tension with 'She'. I don't know its name or if it has one. But it is the force of destruction. Elena has made some choices that have been very significant in restoring the balance between 'She' and destruction, and this has gotten Emily very excited. That's all I know, except Emily is adamant that I not have any contact with Elena for a little while longer."

"Let's come up with a different name than 'She', it's giving me a headache, let's call her …" Jeremy thought for a second, "I know, let's call her Gaia, goddess of the earth."

Bonnie thought for a second, "Ok, I think that will work, we'll call her Gaia."

"What does all this have to do with you?" asked Jeremy

"Gaia wanted me here to be a conduit between Emily and Elena, at the appropriate time. Once that has happened, I no longer belong here, since I've never actually died."

"Is it Gaia, or is it Emily that is not ready for this conduit to happen?" asked Jeremy.

"Neither, it's Elena who's not ready. Apparently, she's very close to ready, but not yet."

"What does she have to do to be ready?"

"Who, Elena? I don't know."

"What if Elena never gets ready, whatever that means?"

"I think that I'll be stuck here until she is."

"That sucks. Seems like everything depends on Elena. What is it about her that always makes her the center?"

Bonnie shrugged. "That just seems to be her destiny. As a result, everyone who is close to her gets sucked in as well."

"Tell me about it. Do you think Elena is destined for greatness, somehow? That would be pretty neat."

Bonnie smiled, "Greatness isn't necessarily a great deal, Jeremy. Look at Abraham Lincoln. He was one of our greatest presidents, but look what happened to him."

"Then you do think she is going to be great somehow."

Bonnie spoke carefully, "I think she is going to be pivotal, at least. I know she is special."

"What about Damon?"

"I have come to realize that Damon is the perfect companion for Elena. If Elena is the center for Gaia's plans, then Damon is Elena's center. Elena would not be the vampire that Gaia needs if it was not for Damon. I was surprised to discover that Emily has a real fondness for Damon. Damon stuck up for her against his father one time and she has always been grateful."

Jeremy sighed "I guess we're going to Greensboro then. I wouldn't want to piss off Gaia. Elena is going to absolutely flip out. She can be really wicked if you get her mad enough and that was before she was a vampire. I hope Gaia appreciates what I'm doing."

Bonnie smiled, "We'll have fun Jeremy. Greensboro has a lot of neat things to do."

"Just don't get me talking to you in public, okay? I get tired of people looking at me like I've lost my mind."

Bonnie laughed. Getting Jeremy to look foolish by talking to her at inappropriate times was fun.

 **Elena's Reaction**

Elena almost threw her cell phone against the wall in frustration when she read Jeremy's text message. "What the hell! He's barely 17, what makes him think he can go off to Greensboro, North Carolina without so much as a How do you do!

"What did you say? He's gone to Greensboro? What possessed him to do that?" asked Damon.

"He says he missed Bonnie and she invited him to come down."

"That's strange," mused Damon. "I can't see Bonnie doing that without consulting with you, and I really can't see Jeremy just leaving like that. What's he doing for money?"

"I haven't a clue, Bonnie arranged this all somehow. They are ducking out on me. That's what they're doing! Bonnie and Jeremy know that I want to talk to her and she's avoiding me for some reason. Do you think she's guessed what we're doing and is against it?"

Damon shrugged, "Who knows what that witch knows. You need to be careful with her, Elena. Witches have their first loyalty to powers we don't understand. They always seem to have their own agenda."

Elena nodded, "I know that's true, even with Bonnie. However, that doesn't matter to me. She's still my friend. I trust her. If she feels it necessary to do something that causes me harm, I know it will be because she didn't have any choice."

"You're too forgiving, Elena."

"I'm selfish, really. My friends and my lover," Elena took a moment to snuggle against Damon, "are too important to allow a grievance get in the way. Seriously, Damon, why do you think Bonnie is avoiding me?"

"Let's go to Greensboro and find out."

Elena smiled in anticipation. "Good idea, it will be fun to surprise them."

Together they worked out their plans for travelling to Greensboro. Elena had made some promises to Caroline and Katherine for Damon and her to get Katherine accepted to Whitmore plus Damon had other commitments in Mystic Falls, so they discovered they wouldn't be free to go for almost two weeks. If Bonnie and Jeremy were still avoiding her after two weeks, then, Elena thought grimly, we'll see how much longer Bonnie would be able to avoid their confrontation.


	10. Enter Emily Bennett

Entrée Emily Bennett

Jeremy was eating breakfast at Bonnie's aunt's house wondering what he would do that day. He'd done everything in Greensboro that he had any interest in doing. Aunt Susan was definitely thinking he was weird or crazy or both. This was his twelfth day here and he had all he could take. The idea of staying another two days let alone 16 was incomprehensible. 'Screw this,' he thought, 'I'm going back to Mystic Falls. If Gaia doesn't like it well she can go ahead and zap me with a lightning bolt. Everything else has happened to me.'

By the time Jeremy's resolve had increased to the point where he was ready to take action, he became aware of Bonnie's presence. "Elena and Damon are on their way here," Bonnie exclaimed.

"That's great," exclaimed Jeremy. "That means I can avoid them by going back to Mystic Falls!"

"No, you need to stay here. Emily says that Elena is ready to learn the truth about me and the truth about other things. They'll be in Greensboro after lunch. Give her a call, Jeremy, and arrange a place here to meet."

"What will I tell Elena about how I know they're coming? How do you know they're coming?"

Bonnie shrugged, "Emily knew and she told me. Don't worry about what you tell Elena, the time for keeping secrets is over."

Jeremy was ready to leave right now, but he supposed he could stick it out for a few more hours. At least he wouldn't have to worry about what he could mention and not mention. He took out his cell and called Elena.

"Hi Elena, where are you guys?"

"Believe it or not, we're on our way to Greensboro to see you. You're not going anywhere are you, Jeremy? You're not going to let us drive all that way and find that you've ducked out and gone someplace else?"

"Why would I do that?" replied Jeremy, tongue in cheek. "It will be good to see you. What time do you think you'll be here?"

Jeremy heard Damon say about one in the background but Elena replied, "Oh I think we'll be there around three. Do you have an idea where we can meet?"

Jeremy thought for a second and said, "There's a coffee shop in the downtown area called The Green Bean, on Elm Street. It should be quiet about that time. Do you think you can find it?"

"We should be able to, if we have any problem will you answer your phone?"

"Of course, I always answer when you call."

"Yeah, right," Elena replied sarcastically. "It will be good to see you Jeremy. We have a lot to talk about, especially what makes you think you can just leave town without saying anything to Damon or myself."

Jeremy sighed. He supposed he wasn't going to be able to avoid that conversation. He really hoped Bonnie was telling the truth when she said the time for secrets was over. "I know Elena. I'll try to explain everything. You may not like all the answers though."

Elena chuckled warily, "I expect nothing less, Jeremy. See you."

When Jeremy hung up, Bonnie asked, "So? How'd it go?"

"Ok I guess, we're meeting at three at the Green Bean. Strange though."

"What was strange?"

"Well, I heard Damon say they'd be here around one but Elena set the three o'clock time. For someone anxious to chew me out for leaving town, why the two hour delay?"

Bonnie simply shrugged her shoulders. She was happier than Jeremy was to get the truth out between her and Elena. She missed her friend deeply. "She must have a reason."

Coincidentally, Damon asked Elena the same question after she disconnected from Jeremy.

"Because we are going hunting," Elena replied grimly. "I'm certain Bonnie will be there as well. I want to be in top form when we meet. There is something going on and I want to be as prepared as possible."

"You sound as if you're expecting Bonnie to be an adversary."

"You said it yourself, witches tend to have their own agenda."

"You said you trusted her."

"I do, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to be prepared."

"So hunting helps you feel prepared, interesting. You're sure you'll find someone suitable in time?"

Elena nodded. "Greensboro is a good size city. I won't have any trouble finding someone who wants to victimize innocent people. All I want is one."

Damon marveled at this complex woman he had fallen in love with. She reminded him of himself back in his days as a sharpshooter in the Civil War. He had been like this, laughing and joking with friends and comrades and then changing to a deadly killing machine taking aim at some unknown victim across the field of battle. He had coped by placing the two situations in different boxes. Elena didn't do that. He wondered how she coped.

Elena picked up on his mood. "What are you thinking, Damon? You're troubled."

"I was just recalling what it was like for me during the war. I coped because I never knew anything about the men I killed. Even then, they haunted me. I worry what will happen to you since you insist on knowing the men you kill."

Elena considered his question carefully. She realized that it was important to their relationship for him to understand. "As they die I see the evil in the world. When they die, I feel some evil leaving the world. It makes what you and I have together so much more precious. If I didn't have you, Damon, I couldn't bear living, let alone doing what I do. Our happiness helps to put their evil in perspective, and I use their evil so that I don't take for granted our happiness. The two gives me balance, Damon."

Damon shook his head uncomprehendingly. "I guess I just have to trust you on this Elena. I can't know what you are experiencing when this is happening. I accept that everything we've done together tells me that this is working for you."

Elena hugged him, "That's all I want Damon, for you to trust me."

Elena was finding it increasingly easy now to find prey. It almost seemed as if these men were seeking her out. She had developed the ability to project the idea that she was a victim. By doing so, her prey developed an image of her to fit whatever target they were seeking out. If there was a child molester nearby, he saw her as a child alone and vulnerable. If there was a rapist, she was his type. If there was a serial killer, she was his next victim.

Elena also discovered that if she didn't want to be seen then nobody could see her. She also learned to switch off her ability to compel with specific people. She had done so with Damon. She no longer worried that she might accidently compel him like she had before. She was sure now, that the time he had almost stabbed himself was because of her. This frightened her, and led her to experiment with others to determine the depth of her ability. After her experiment with Klaus, she knew she could compel vampires as well as humans. Did that make her an equal of an Original, or was she stronger? Elena decided she hoped to never have to find out.

She never wanted to be tempted to manipulate her friends, vampire or human. She had switched off her ability to compel Caroline and Katherine (yes she was beginning to consider Katherine a friend) and she vowed to herself to do the same with Jeremy and Bonnie when she saw them. No matter what the provocation, she didn't want to ever compel her friends or family.

She had become skilled at controlling her ability to compel in that she could send general instructions to anyone she was aware of, or specific direction to an individual she selected. All could be done simply with her thought. She realized that when she actually spoke it was a very powerful compulsion altogether. As she practiced, she fine-tuned her ability, so that she could selectively compel some, and not compel others. The only limitation she could find was she had to be actually aware of the person in order to compel them.

Damon had found Elena's increasing ability useful, although she was reluctant to reveal how much she could actually do. Together they had penetrated several government buildings in Washington and in several colleges to create a number of alternate identities. Now Elena and Damon never travelled using their actual names. It would be very difficult for anyone to trace any of her kills back to them in Mystic Falls.

After they arrived in Greensboro, as Elena had predicted, they had not had any difficulty finding the prey she had been looking for. As they were approaching the Green Bean, Elena considered what word to describe what she experienced immediately after her kill. She had used the word exhilarating with Katherine, but she realized that wasn't accurate. She realized clarity was the word that captures the experience. As she had tried to describe with Damon, with the need to find the balance of evil and good that defined her life now, the experience gave her clarity.

When they entered the Green Bean, they spotted Jeremy immediately. Elena was shocked to realize that Bonnie was not there. She had been so certain that Bonnie would be that she was at a loss momentarily how to proceed. Damon didn't hesitate, however, and walked over to Jeremy to greet him.

"Jeremy, have you had a nice holiday here? If I were to strike out on my own, I think I'd find a more entertaining place than Greensboro," greeted Damon sarcastically.

"Hey Damon, good to see you too," replied Jeremy with equal sarcasm.

"Stop it, both of you," pleaded Elena. "Jeremy, how could you just leave like that? I know I don't qualify as a parent or guardian, but you can at least talk to me. What possessed you to leave like that? Why have you been running away from me?"

Jeremy suddenly realized with guilt how unfair he had been to Elena. She was right, no matter how much he cared for Bonnie, he should have talked with Elena. Then he heard Bonnie speak to him, "She's right Jeremy. We should have talked with her, I should have seen it earlier. I allowed being able to talk to Emily sway me away from trusting my friend. Tell her I'm here, Jeremy."

"Elena, Bonnie is here with me too."

"I know she is, Jeremy, you told me you came here to visit with her. Where is she now? I expected you both to be here together."

"No, you don't understand, Bonnie is here with me, right now."

"What are you talking about?" asked Damon. "There's just the three of us. Look, Elena is very patient. I'm not. I don't appreciate the games you've been playing. Where is the witch, right now?"

"Here," Jeremy replied impatiently. "She's right here. When she brought me back, she died herself. She's no longer in the physical world, but she's connected to me. I can see her and talk to her, but no one else can."

Elena paled and covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "You mean she's dead?"

"Not exactly," replied Jeremy. "But right now she's not really alive either. She's sort of in limbo."

"What can we do? Why haven't you told me this before?" asked Elena.

"Bonnie says there is nothing you can do about it, but there is hope," Jeremy said, knowing that he wasn't telling the complete truth. "I didn't tell you before because Bonnie didn't want you to know. You see, she's been in contact with her ancestor Emily Bennett. Apparently, there is some plan going on that meant nobody could know that she was not in this world."

Damon snorted, "Of course, some plan. I told you Elena, witches have always got some other agenda in the works. Jeremy, get your stuff, we're taking you back home."

As Damon was starting to stand up, Bonnie urgently told Jeremy, "Jeremy, tell Elena that Emily can answer her questions."

When Jeremy complied with Bonnie's instructions, Elena reached out a hand and stayed Damon from getting up. "Is Bonnie really here with us?"

Jeremy nodded.

"Can she hear us, or can she hear only you?"

"She can see and hear the world around wherever I am. She can't just roam around at will, it's like we're tethered together."

Elena's eyes filled with tears, "Bonnie, I've missed you so much."

"Bonnie is crying as well, Elena. She's said she's sorry. She shouldn't have so blindly obeyed Emily's direction."

A hint of anger crept into Elena's demeanor. "What's Emily got to do with me?"

"Jeremy," Bonnie spoke urgently. "There's something I haven't told you, that you need to know."

"What!" cried Jeremy exasperated. Elena and Damon exchanged glances of confusion wondering if he was talking to them or to Bonnie.

"It's about why you and I are here," replied Bonnie.

To Elena and Damon, Jeremy explained, "You'll have to excuse me for a minute. Apparently, Bonnie has just now decided to explain something to me. I'm going to be talking to her for a few minutes. It may look like I'm losing it, but I'm not."

Then, looking at Bonnie, although to Damon and Elena, it appeared he was staring into space, Jeremy said, "Why are you and I here, Bonnie?"

"We're to provide the means for Emily to talk directly to Elena," explained Bonnie. "Emily connects to me, I connect to you, and you connect to Elena."

"Ok," replied Jeremy. "Where is she, what does she want me to tell Elena?"

"That's just the thing, Jeremy. She's not going to relay information through us, she wants to talk directly to Elena."

It took a few minutes for Jeremy to process this. Then as the light dawned he protested, "You mean, Emily wants to occupy my body, so she can talk to Elena? I don't think so!"

Elena and Damon both began talking at once. "This is totally freaky! Everything I said about witches is doubly true," cried Damon.

"Why am I so important to Emily? What has all this to do with me?" cried Elena.

Bonnie spoke sharply to Jeremy, "Tell them this doesn't concern them right now. This is between you and me. Tell Elena that her questions will be answered soon and tell Damon he just needs to but out."

Elena and Damon quieted momentarily as Jeremy relayed these instructions.

"Jeremy, you asked me not to make you choose between Elena and myself and I'm not, but I am asking you to trust me. I will not be able to return unless we allow this to happen."

Defeated, Jeremy asked, "How is this supposed to work?"

"Simply don't fight it. It will feel much like when a vampire compels you. If you fight it, it will be painful for both of us."

"Painful and it will happen anyway, right?" Jeremy asked.

Bonnie nodded. "Probably, although the outcome would not be certain. It would not be certain that Emily would be successful and it would not be certain we would come out at the end unscathed."

Jeremy sighed. "I guess this is the world I live in now. So when do we do this?"

"Right now, warn Elena that Emily Bennett will be talking to her, and then relax."

"Easy for you," muttered Jeremy. As required, he carried out his instructions to Elena and then tried to relax. He noticed that Bonnie's eyes were closed and she already seemed to have gone to sleep. He then began to feel a foreign presence. To say he felt it in his mind was inadequate. It seemed to envelop his entire sense of being. He instinctively tried to push back at the invasion but the pain in his mind reminded him of Bonnie's warning and he chose to trust her and relaxed. He quickly realized he had no control, that he was simply a spectator over his own body.

"Elena, child, I'm very proud of you." Elena looked warily at Jeremy. The voice speaking was his voice, but more than his words indicated that it was not him speaking. The tone, the authority in the voice clearly showed that another intelligence was speaking to her.

"If you're Emily, then Damon knew you. Can you prove who you are to him?"

Jeremy/Emily smiled, "Of course. Damon, I was always fond of you. It grieved me badly to see you come back from the war so badly damaged. I encouraged Katherine in her pursuit of you as I saw that her way was the only way to bring you back. I didn't know that it wouldn't be Katherine but her doppelganger that would do that."

"So far you haven't proven anything," growled Damon.

"Did you ever tell anyone, that your father tried to rape me and that you stopped him? That the rift between you and your father from that day never healed?"

Damon paled as Jeremy's voice spoke calmly of a bitter memory. He recalled how ashamed he had been of his father that day. "Elena, that is something only Emily and I knew. We agreed not to tell anyone of what happened. I believe it is her talking to us."

Elena nodded then to Jeremy/Emily. "Why are you interested in me?"

Jeremy/Emily replied, "First there are things you want to know about yourself, isn't that right?"

Elena nodded, "Very well, do you know what Damon and I have been doing? Are you going to tell us to stop? Is it too late to stop?"

"Yes I know what you've doing, no, I'm not going to tell you to stop, and no it is not too late to stop, although it soon will be. Frankly, there are many who want you to stop and many who don't. 'She' the one Bonnie and Jeremy have taken to calling Gaia, does not want you to stop. She's counting on you not stopping."

"The changes that have been happening to me, it's because of that, isn't it? Can you explain why?"

"Yes the changes that have taken place are because of what you and Damon have begun. You must understand, when a vampire drinks blood, they are not consuming food like Jeremy eats a steak. It's a spiritual, not a physical, experience. To become a vampire the human body had to die. To sustain the spirit it needs to draw off of the spirit of others. The spirit is contained in the blood. This is the reason religions around the world place such importance on blood. The closer the blood is to the human's life the more of the human's spirit it contains. The most potent moment is when the spirit of the human departs, since it is no longer bound to the physical world, it is then that the vampire can receive the most spiritual energy. However, vampires don't take advantage of this because it is at that moment that they know their victim, not the facts of the victim's life, but the victim's essence of his life. The remorse for taking a victim's life at that point is inescapable and it would ultimately destroy the vampire. Because you have found a way that makes taking the life an act of protection, you have been able to drink fully of the victim's life and you have given peace to an otherwise tortured soul. Because of this, your vampire abilities have progressed beyond any precedent."

"Why does Gaia want me to continue?" questioned Elena.

"That is not something I can tell you. Whether you continue or not must be entirely your choice. We cannot risk influencing you in any way."

Elena nodded. She preferred it this way. She had always suspected that there were other interests involved in her life, but she preferred to act as though her destiny was her own to command.

"I don't intend to stop," she replied. "I am worried though."

"What worries you, child?"

"I know how selfish I really am. I am worried that over time, I'll distort what I'm doing to suit my own purposes. I'm worried I'll find a reason to kill someone because I want to, not to protect others. I'm worried that ultimately I'll simply become another murderer. Mostly, I'm worried I'll drag Damon down with me."

"That is why I'm here, child," Emily replied softly. "I can build a hedge around you and Damon that you won't be able to cross. I can do that for you, if you'd like."

"Yeah, here we go," warned Damon. "Never trust a witch, Elena."

Jeremy/Emily smiled at Damon, "When did you become so cynical?"

"I'm a lot older now, Emily."

"You're not so old, Damon. You're really not so cynical." she replied. "There are agendas at play here that you two do not understand," she conceded. "You're right to question our motivations. But you must also consider that Elena's concerns are legitimate. In fact, they are a certainty. You two will be alive and active for centuries. How important is it that you stay the course, or do you wish to simply be like all the others?"

"Can you tell us what you intend to do?" asked Elena.

"I can tell you some, but not all. I can construct an oath that has a curse if you violate it. The curse will bind the two of you together. If one breaks the oath then you both will die."

"Damon and I will need to talk it over."

"Of course. If you decide to proceed, we will meet again at your home in Mystic Falls, Bonnie, Jeremy, Damon and yourself. You will need to hunt before then, but instead of making the kill, you must keep him alive and bring him as well, as he will be part of creating the oath and the curse."

"What if we decide to take our chances on our own?"

"Then continue as you are and hope for the best. Once you err, the path I offer will only lead to your death. If you choose it now, it can lead to a long productive life."

"A productive life of killing," replied Elena.

Jeremy/Emily shrugged. "As a vampire, you cannot avoid a life of killing. You know this. There are other ways to be productive that may be open to you as well. I am releasing Jeremy and Bonnie now, until we meet again."

Jeremy immediately felt the return of control of his body. He flexed his muscles in relief. "That's a relief, I wasn't totally sure I'd be allowed back. Bonnie, are you ok?"

"Fine," was Bonnie's reply, "Since I'm a spirit, the invasion was not nearly as much a violation as it was for you."

"I'm glad you realize it was a violation," complained Jeremy. "I gather I'll have to experience it again if you guys decide to go through with this?"

"I'm afraid so," replied Bonnie.

Then privately, only to Bonnie, Jeremy asked, "And I guess that Elena and Damon agreeing to this is the condition for you to come back to this world?"

"Yes it is, but Jeremy you can't say anything to Elena. They must be able to make this decision on their own. They can't make it for anybody else, otherwise it won't be able to happen. If you tell Elena, it will be the same as condemning me to be here for eternity, and it wouldn't be fair to her."

"I understand," sighed Jeremy. Then he brightened at a thought and announced to everyone present, "We're going back to Mystic Falls now, right?" They all laughed in agreement.


	11. Elena and Damon Decide

Damon and Elena Decide

For their return trip to Mystic Falls, Damon and Elena were caravanning with Jeremy driving Bonnie's car in front. Damon and Elena road in silence for a few miles until Elena asked, "What are you thinking?"

Damon took a moment to consider. He was thinking a lot of things, what he wanted to share with Elena was a difficult decision. Finally, he said, "You know, those witches have more up their sleeves than what they told us."

Elena nodded her head. "Emily as much as told us so. Is that all that you're thinking about Damon?"

Damon considered some more. Then he blurted, "Just how powerful are you, Elena?"

Elena sank down in her chair, a little depressed. This wasn't what she wanted. When she had started this, all she wanted to do was to give some others a decent chance. She didn't do this to become powerful. She didn't want anything that would separate herself from Damon. "I don't really know, Damon. I haven't really found a limit yet."

"Can you compel vampires? Can you compel me?"

Elena nodded miserably.

"That time I almost stabbed myself, was that you?"

"I believe so."

"I've thought about doing that before, you know. I mean before I knew you. I couldn't see the point of going on until I met you. So, when I almost actually did it, I wasn't sure if it was me or you. Have you compelled me since?"

"No, not since. I've learned how to block myself from doing that again. It's not much, but it's something."

"I don't understand."

"That time with you, I didn't mean to compel you, it was an outburst as a result of our argument. That won't happen again, I've blocked myself from doing that. But all I have to do is unblock myself, decide to myself, 'I'm going to compel him' and the block is removed."

"Is it harder to compel vampires than humans?"

"Not really, it's like learning a different language, once you've learned the language, then there really isn't much difference." Elena paused and decided she needed to be completely honest. "It's different with you, though."

"You mean I'm harder?"

Elena shook her head. "No, actually, you'd be very easy. Because we've become so intimate, you're almost an extension of myself. It would be almost as easy as wiggling my fingers. I imagine you could compel me as well. I would find you difficult to resist."

"If you didn't resist, you think I could compel you?"

Elena nodded, "I'm sure of it."

"Then why don't you allow me to compel you to not be able to compel me?"

Elena chuckled at the looping logic, but it actually made sense. "I think that's a good idea. We'll try when we get home. Damon, what are your thoughts on the other?"

Again Damon took his time before answering. "I wonder, how much will a person change when they are on the other side?"

Elena shrugged her shoulders, "Who really knows? I'm sure their perspective changes. That alone will change a person. I've changed since becoming a vampire. Bonnie has changed since discovering her powers. But we haven't changed who we are. The most important things, how we feel about loved ones, I don't think that has changed."

"When I knew Emily, she definitely was a devious witch. She played several parties against each other to suit her own purposes. But, in all that, she had a core of decency to her. She may surprise you with her twists and turns but she would never pretend to be your friend and then stab you in the back."

Elena nodded. "I think she is our friend. I don't think Bonnie would cooperate with her if she wasn't."

"If we go through with this, we'll be bound together forever. Are you sure you want that?"

"What do you want, Damon?" Elena responded.

"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck." Damon muttered to himself.

"What? What did you mean by that?"

Damon was startled to realize he had spoken out loud. Nonplussed he replied, "Well you know, if something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it's a duck. If we do this we might as well be married."

Elena had been cuddled against him holding his hand until this point. She let go of his hand and shifted to the other side of the car. Every girl dreams about two things growing up. She dreams about when the love of her life asks her to marry him and about her wedding. She had never considered that the proposal from her lover would do it by comparing her to a duck.

"Are you asking me to marry you simply because we already act like we're married? Is that what you're saying?"

Damon cursed to himself, knowing that he had blown it and wondering how to fix it. A vampire couple marrying was unprecedented, just like everything about Elena was unprecedented. He had thought about proposing to her several times. He couldn't believe he could be so stupid as to bring it up so casually.

"What I mean is that this oath Emily is proposing is effectively marriage vows. We will be binding ourselves to each other forever. Emily is suggesting that we be married."

"You don't want to be married, do you Damon? It's okay. I've never expected anything like this from you. I understand. It doesn't change anything for me."

Damon found Elena's low expectations of him a little annoying. "You should expect this from me. You should expect a hell of a lot more from me, Elena."

Now Elena was getting annoyed. "There are some things, Damon, that lose their meaning if I get them because they are expected," she replied frostily.

Damon took a deep breath and tried to think. He saw a sign for a rest area one mile ahead. "I can't do this and drive at the same time. I'm going to pull off up here and we can talk." Elena simply nodded her head.

It only took a minute to pull off and park. Damon immediately got out of the car and was at Elena's side with vampire quickness. "Let's talk over there," said Damon, gesturing at a picnic table that was away from any other people.

They walked hand in hand and when Elena sat down on the bench, Damon kneeled down in front of her. "Oh, Damon, don't be ridiculous! Get up, this isn't what I want."

Damon sat down next her. "Just what do you want, Elena? Do you have any idea?"

Elena shook her head. "I can tell you what I don't want. I don't want some silly gesture just to pacify me or make me feel better. I don't want a proposal that is nothing more than an acceptance of reality. I don't want to say we're married simply because circumstances have bound us together. These are the reasons you were going to propose to me now at this time and place and that is not what I want."

"What makes you so sure this is all those things that you don't want?"

"Why else are you doing this then, Damon? Why did you want to do something so ridiculous as getting on a knee at a rest area for goodness sake. You said yourself, what we have together is already a duck. There is nothing more that needs to be done."

"I know what I want, Elena. Let me tell you what I want. I want to be with you forever. I want to be with you when I'm pissed off at you because you can be so stubborn and aggravating. I want to be with you when you're furious with me because I've done something stupid, again. I want the world to know that we're together, that I belong to you and you belong to me. That's what I want, Elena, and that is what being married means. Do you want that too?"

"Yes, Damon, that is what I want too." Elena grabbed him and they kissed passionately.

They were interrupted by the sound of a family across the way applauding and cheering. Damon and Elena grinned at each other. "Did you have to choose a rest area, Damon?"

"It was chosen for me, when I babbled mindlessly in the car."

"You need to be careful about doing that. It can get you in all sorts of trouble," Elena teased. Her cell phone rang and Elena looked at it. "It's Jeremy, we forgot all about Jeremy."

"Where the hell are you guys?" Jeremy exploded once Elena answered the call. "You were right behind me and then you disappeared."

"We're at a rest area, Jeremy. I'm sorry, we should have told you we were pulling off."

"I've just crossed into Virginia. I'm pulling into the welcome center. I have to do what you and Damon probably had to do."

"If that's the case be sure to give Bonnie my blessing," giggled Elena.

"What are you talking about? I'm stopping to pee."

"Oh, well you know, vampires don't really have to do that, Jeremy."

"Well then what the hell are you doing back there?"

Elena could tell Jeremy was pretty annoyed. "We'll talk about it when we get home."

Now Jeremy was suspicious. "You've decided haven't you? You've decided what you're going to do. I was hoping I could be a little involved in that, I'm only your brother."

"Actually, we haven't decided yet. We'll certainly listen to you, Jeremy, but this concerns Damon and I."

"I guess we'll meet at home then. See you then, Elena."

"Be safe Jeremy."

As Elena put her phone away she said to Damon, "We do have to decide what to do."

"It's pretty obvious, isn't it? We need to go through with it."

"Are you really sure?"

Damon nodded, "Aren't you?"

Elena sighed, "Yes. The only reason I can think for not doing this is fear. Everything that has happened to us has led us to this point and whatever is beyond. Fear is not a good enough reason to step away."

Damon chuckled, "So much for Jeremy having any input."

Elena smiled, "Poor Jeremy. I hope Bonnie can cheer him up."

They walked back to the car holding hands. Damon felt Elena's day ring on her finger and frowned. "I'm going to get you a proper ring and have Bonnie cast a spell on it to be your new day ring. I don't really want my wife to wear a ring given her by another man."

"I would like that. Will you replace the one you have with one from me?"

"Absolutely. We need to figure out how to return Bonnie back to the real world so she can take care of that."

"Agreed," Elena replied fervently. "Let's stop at Danville or Lynchburg on the way."

Damon glanced at her, "Why?"

"I have to hunt, Damon. We need someone for this oath of Emily's"

"He's not going to ride home with us!"

"Don't be silly. I'll just set it up so that he is where we need him, when we need him."

"You can do that?"

Elena simply smiled ruefully and shrugged.


	12. Oath Blood Passion

Bound by Oath, Blood, and Passion

Jeremy had made it home to Mystic Falls a little while before Elena and Damon. As soon as they entered their home, Jeremy was there asking them, "Well what did you decide? Are you going to go through with it?"

Elena sighed, "Oh hello Jeremy, it's good to be home too. Thanks for such a nice warm welcome."

"Aw, come off of it Elena," complained Jeremy. "We can go through the pleasantries later. I know you and Damon have already made a decision, what's it going to be? What have you two been getting into anyway? I couldn't understand half of what Emily was saying and I was the one saying it."

"Fine," sighed Elena. "Yes, we've decided to go through with it. Is Bonnie with you?"

"She's always with me," replied Jeremy. "Even when she shouldn't be with me, she's with me. Bonnie wants to know when you'll be ready."

"Tomorrow afternoon. Any place special?"

"Yes, she says at the tomb under the old church ruin, where everything else seems to happen around here. Apparently, the place is some sort of supernatural focal spot."

Elena nodded. "We'll have everything ready at 3 o'clock tomorrow."

"By ready, you're going to have your so-called prey there as well. What is that all about, Elena?"

"Jeremy, my preys are people who victimize other innocent people. My preys are people who, if I don't stop them, will continue to hurt and kill innocent people."

"You're going to end up killing someone tomorrow, aren't you?"

Elena nodded. "You can ask Bonnie for sure, but yes, I imagine so."

Damon saw that Elena was wilting with fatigue from the journey and then hunting on the way home. "Look, Jeremy, Elena is whipped and I'm tired as well. We're going to bed, so good night."

They turned to go to bed and then Elena had a thought. "Oh, where's Katherine?"

Jeremy responded, "Yes I forgot. There was a note that she and Caroline had gone to Whitmore College to sort some things out. She'll be back day after tomorrow."

Elena was pleased, "That's good. We won't have to worry about her or Caroline. I am so glad that things are working out between them. Good night Jeremy, see you in the morning."

In spite of being tired, Elena and Damon spent most of the night talking and making love. Early in the morning Elena laughed, "We should really actually get some sleep."

Damon protested, "We don't know what's going to happen later today. For all we know, we could be dead before tomorrow is over. This could be some elaborate ruse to punish us. Let's not waste this night sleeping."

"I'm not worried, are you?"

"No, I don't have any regrets." Damon kissed Elena on the nose, "Very well, good night, sweet dreams."

"They won't be any sweeter than what is happening right now," she replied.

In spite of having very little sleep, Elena still woke before Damon rose and dressed quickly. She left their home, drove to a nearby service station, and waited for someone suitable to help. It didn't take long before a single man driving a car with North Carolina license plates arrived to fill up with gas. Elena got out of her car and approached him.

"Hello," she greeted him, compelling him to obey her at the same time.

"Hello," he responded. "What do you want me to do?"

"You have a cell phone don't you? Let me have it. "

"Yes, here you go." The man handed his phone to Elena.

Elena dialed a number she had written down yesterday. "Hello Nathan. You remember me don't you?"

"Yes," Nathan replied.

"I'm sending someone to pick you up. There is an Exxon service station at the corner of Village Highway and Richmond Highway. Do you know where that is?"

"Yes I do."

"Arrive there at one o'clock this afternoon and wait there. Do you have a ball cap?"

"Yes"

"Is it sports cap or what?"

"It's a John Deere."

"Good, wear that while you are waiting. A man will come to you and tell you that you are needed at Mystic Falls. When he tells you that, you are to come with him. Do you understand?"

"Yes I do."

"That's good Nate. You can hang up now. I'll see you soon and I'll be available for you to do what you like best."

"Thank you, Elena," and Nate hung up the phone.

Now Elena turned to the man she had stopped. "Sir, what is your name?"

"Michael."

"Good, Michael, did you hear what I told Nate to do?"

"Yes."

"I want you to meet Nate at the Exxon station at exactly one. You'll know him by his wearing a John Deere ball cap. I want you to go to the station immediately to be sure you've found it. Call me on my phone. What's your number and I'll call you."

"1-912-555-8344"

Elena called the number and Michael's phone rang.

"That's good Michael. You now have my number. Once you've found the station, then wait. At exactly one be looking for Nate, he'll be arriving wearing a John Deer ball cap. He drives a yellow Chevrolet pickup truck. Tell him he's needed at Mystic Falls and then bring him here. He'll leave the truck parked at the station and he'll ride with you. When you've picked him up, call me to let me know you are coming. Do you understand?"

"Yes I do."

"Once you've dropped Nate off here, I want you to delete my number, delete any calls you have made to that number and then completely forget everything you did. If you are wondering why you are running late, it is because you overslept and weren't feeling well. Are you going to do that, Michael?"

"Yes, I will do everything you say."

"That's fine, good bye Michael."

Elena was confident that Nate and Michael would do as instructed. The only thing that could go awry was if there was a car accident somewhere, in which case they would have to reschedule.

Elena returned home to find both Jeremy and Damon up. Jeremy was finishing up cleaning after breakfast. Jeremy saw her and observed, "You were up early. Did you have some errands to run?"

Elena nodded. "I had to make some final arrangements. We'll have everything in place by three. Will that suit Bonnie and whomever else?"

Jeremy nodded. "Specific time doesn't mean much on the other side, but Emily will be ready any time Bonnie calls for her. Of course, Bonnie is pretty much at my side whenever I'm awake."

Elena nodded. Well then, I guess we'll just wait. She smiled at Damon, "You kept me up too late last night, so I'm tired. I'd like to take a nap. Wake me in a couple of hours."

As Elena napped, Jeremy and Damon simply killed time, read a little, watched a little TV and chatted in general.

"Damon, I think you should tell me what you and Elena have been doing."

Damon nodded, "You're right. In short, we've rather started our own vigilante thing."

Jeremy hadn't expected that, he sat up alertly, "In what way?"

"We find really bad guys and take them out, that's all."

"I think there's more to it than that, the way Emily is so interested."

"It is more complicated, but that's all I'm in the mood to explain. Just know, that when Elena talks about going hunting, she's not talking about bunny rabbits."

"How did you manage to get her involved in that?"

"Why is it that you just assume it's my idea?"

"It just doesn't sound like her, that's all."

"Jeremy, one thing you need to get used to is that Elena is a very complex woman. About the time you're getting use to this nice sweet caring girl, she can become courageous, cunning, and absolutely ruthless. And if you get use to this huntress who can stalk and kill without mercy, she becomes compassionate, loving, and a woman who will cry tears of grief for the man she just had to kill. You've known her for what, seventeen years? I believe if I get to be with her for centuries, I'll still be trying to figure that woman out."

Jeremy nodded, "I can get that. It's pretty much the same with Bonnie."

Damon chuckled, "How is it possible that in the whole world, two women like them could grow up together. Makes one think maybe there is a master plan somehow."

"Do you think that's true? Bonnie thinks so."

"So does Elena. For myself, I find it damn annoying."

They heard Elena's phone ring at that moment. Damon glanced at his watch, one o'clock exactly.

Elena had already woken up, and she answered the phone. "Hello? Thank you Michael, you've done very well so far. I'll see you in about 90 minutes. If there should be any delays, call me to let me know. If Nate gives you any trouble be sure to notify me immediately."

To Jeremy and Damon, Elena spoke, "Everything will be ready before three. I'll just meet you at the tombs, ok?" They both nodded their heads. "I want some time alone. Oh, by the way Jeremy, Damon and I have agreed to marry. I thought you should be the first to know, especially since telling you is the same as telling Bonnie."

Jeremy grinned and gave Elena a hug and shook Damon's hand. "Bonnie is delighted as well. It's been a long road, Damon. There was a time when if Elena had told me this I would think it was the worse news in the world, now I'm happy for you both."

Damon had been caught by surprise at Elena's impulsive announcement but was happy she had. He had been afraid she would want to keep it quiet, and was very glad that she was as eager as he was to tell the world.

Damon and Jeremy found themselves too restless too wait around long and found themselves at the tomb a half hour early. They sat around restlessly and were relieved when they saw Elena approaching, followed by a man in his 40's following after her. When she arrived, she instructed him curtly, "Sit over there Nate, and wait. Don't speak and absolutely do not move." As Nate did as she instructed, she turned to Damon and Jeremy. "We are all here a little early. I'm rather anxious to have this done, can we go ahead and get started?"

Jeremy nodded, "Both Bonnie and Emily are present. I guess I'm going to have to let Emily take control, give me a minute."

Jeremy took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes, and allowed his body to relax. Almost immediately after, he opened his eyes alertly and looked around. Elena and Damon knew immediately that it was Emily, not Jeremy present.

Emily/Jeremy spoke, "I have been preparing as you have been waiting. This place is charged with the necessary spell. It is waiting to be triggered by your swearing your respective oaths. I have written it in Bonnie's grimoire. There are several actions you will need to take. Some will be at my instruction and others you will know what to do at the appointed time. Here, you can look over the oaths so that you are prepared."

She showed them the oaths. Both Elena and Damon read over what they were to swear. Elena simply nodded. Damon spoke, "Sure, I can live with this."

"Elena you will go first, then Damon. After you both have spoken, a fire will ignite and you need to breath in some of the smoke. You don't need to inhale so that you choke. You just need to sniff as if you're taking in the fragrance. Do you understand?"

Elena nodded her head and spoke, "I am Elena Gilbert, soon to be Elena Salvatore wife of Damon Salvatore, daughter of woman and cursed under the sun. I swear that I shall no longer taste of human blood except to protect the innocents from suffering at the hands of humans bent and determined to deliver suffering for the sake of their pleasure, obsessions, or profit."

Elena stepped away from the book and Damon stepped forward and spoke, "I am Damon Salvatore, soon to be husband of Elena, son of man and cursed under the sun. I swear that I shall not take human life except only as necessary to protect my loved ones and family."

Immediately upon completion of the oath, flame burst from the grimoire but it was not consumed. Obediently Elena and Damon sniffed of the vapors rising from the flame. Later, they would observe to each other that the vapor was a sweetish perfume, and was not unpleasant but strong.

After they had done this, Emily spoke, "Damon, you must now drink Elena's blood. You've drank her blood before, I think?" Damon nodded. "That's very good, this time, you must drink deeply from her. Do not be concerned, as she is a vampire you cannot cause her permanent harm."

Elena bent her head to the side and made her neck easily available for his bite. As he bent close to her, the sound of her pulse and the smell of her body filled his senses so that instead of a tender bite as he was familiar with doing when they made love, he lost control and bit her savagely and deeply as he had done with previous victims whom he did not intend to survive.

Elena cried out in pain from the sudden assault and yet took her hand to the back of his head and held him closer. As the blood poured from her body, she cried out "Damon."

Damon didn't stop, he found he couldn't stop; he was under a compulsion to drain as much of her blood as possible. Soon, Elena had lost so much blood she began to become dehydrated. The pain of her arteries and veins collapsing with no blood to keep them open began to become excruciating and Elena cried out again in pain. Her cry pierced through Damon's compulsion and he tried to withdraw, but Elena sensing his movement away from her pressed his head harder against her neck and added her own compulsion. "You cannot stop, you must not stop."

This was more than Damon could possibly resist and he redoubled his efforts to dehydrate his future bride. It was not much longer that Elena had nothing left for him. Her body had shriveled to resemble an old, old woman. She had no strength. It was only by looking in her eyes that one could tell there was any life at all.

Damon stepped away from her at that moment sobbing in grief at what he had been forced to do. Emily spoke to him then, "Damon, open your vein and give her some of your blood to restore her. She will know what to do then."

Damon meekly nodded his obedience, bit a wound in his wrist to get some blood to flow and took it to Elena's lips. At first, she was too weak even to open her mouth, but a few drops of blood fell to moisten her lips and this was enough to allow her to have the strength to press his wrist to her lips and she sucked gently as a babe suckles to her mother's breast.

Elena didn't take much, only enough to give her strength to speak. She gestured towards Nate and spoke in a hoarse whisper, "Help me over to him."

Damon lifted her up as a child and carried her over to the man she had brought with her and set her down next to him. She whispered to the man, "Tell me your full name."

"Nathanial Raymond Shaw" he replied.

"You hurt people, don't you?"

Nate nodded his head.

"Tell me what you do to them."

"I find women who have someone they cherish, a child, a sibling, a parent, someone whom they have committed themselves to protect. Once I find a woman like that, I rape her and I hurt their loved one. I make sure they understand that if they do anything to oppose me, their loved one will suffer horribly. I render them helpless to stop me. I systematically terrorize and reduce their ability to refuse me anything. Then when they have been totally broken down I kill their loved one in front of them. That is the best part, when they realize it had all been for nothing. When they realize this, they have nothing left. At that point I can do anything I want to them and they don't have the will to resist. Then when I am finished with them I provide the means for them to kill themselves in despair."

"How many have you done this too?" whispered Elena.

"Not many, it takes a lot of time, three so far. I have one under my power now. You will be my fifth. You're very pretty, I am really looking forward to seeing you break down."

"What's her name? The one you have now?"

"Rhonda Justice"

"She lives in Lynchburg?"

"Yes"

Elena glanced at Damon and saw that he had recorded her name. Then she tried to raise her head up to bite Nate's neck but found she was too weak. "Give me your arm, Nate."

Nate held his arm to her and she took it and buried her fangs into his wrist so that they pierced his artery. As she took his blood into her body, everyone could see the youth returning to her. Her skin, hair, muscle tone all restored to the beautiful woman they knew as Elena. Soon she had recovered enough of her strength to let go of Nate's arm in order to reach his jugular vein. As she shifted position, Jeremy noted the tears in her eyes and wondered, was she grieving over this monster who enjoyed torturing his victims to the point of suicide?

Once Elena had his jugular, his end came quickly. She rose up and looked around, "Hello Bonnie. It's good to see you at last."

Everyone had been so absorbed in the drama unfolding with Damon and Elena and Nate that they had not noticed Bonnie gradually materializing next to them.

With a cry of joy, Jeremy gave Bonnie a big hug. She returned the hug but then pushed him away. "We're going to need to give them some privacy, Jeremy."

Jeremy looked at Elena and saw that she was staring fixedly at Damon with a strange half smile, as if she were considering an unspoken joke. She took a step towards Damon, then another, then with vampire quickness she pounced on him, knocking him to the ground and bit him fiercely in the neck.

Jeremy and Bonnie beat a hasty retreat as Elena drank deeply from Damon. Then she let go and kissed him passionately.

When Damon tasted Elena's mouth and his own blood he became as filled with lust for her as she was for him. They began to undress each other but soon lost patience and ripped each other's clothes away and let them fall to the side as rags. Both Elena and Damon had only one need in their minds, and that was for Damon to plant his seed deep into her womb. With the passion they had for each other, this was soon accomplished. As Elena felt his seed entering her body, her passion dissipated and she fainted in his arms. Damon gently lay next to her caressing and kissing her gently.

Elena was out for a short time before she became awake again. She assessed their current position and raised her eyebrow as inquiry.

"What do you remember?" asked Damon.

Elena spoke slowly as she tried to recall. "I remember the oath. I remember you biting me and drinking my blood. It felt both awful and wonderful. I don't remember much else." She paused, "I think, is Bonnie back?" Damon nodded and Elena smiled. "That's good, we'll have to get her to make new rings." Elena glanced down at Damon's body, "I assume we made love?"

"I would say you raped me."

"Ha, I don't believe that. What is it they always say when accused of rape? Yes we had sex but it was consensual?"

"You don't believe me? Look at my clothes!"

"What about mine?"

"Ok, maybe it was consensual, a little."

"I guess the more pressing question is how are we going to get home without anything to where?"

"We'll have to send Jeremy back to the house to get some."

Elena sighed and laid her head against his chest, "How nice, we'll have to stay here like this until he comes back. That could take some time."

"Doesn't it bother you to cuddle with a dead guy just over there?"

Elena grimaced, "I remember him now. He was really awful, one of the worst actually. He was filled with hate. I don't think there was a time in his life when he didn't want to see others suffer."

"Yet you cried for him."

Elena nodded, "Him and the ones who suffered at his hands. I don't think the women he tortured were the beginning."

Damon lifted himself up. "Jeremy," he called out. "Hey Jeremy, uh don't come over here, unless you want to get a thrill. We need you to go to the house and get some clothes."

"What happened to the clothes you were wearing?" Jeremy called back. He had been coming back to the tomb but Bonnie had stopped him.

"Umm, they're not really functional anymore."

"So what are you wearing?"

"Yes, well, not very much, I have to say."

"What about Elena?"

"She's not wearing very much either."

"You two have no self-restraint. Do you know that?"

"Fine, can we skip the lecture and you go get us some clothes?"

"Ok, what do you want me to get?"

"Really Jeremy? Clothes, you know pants, shirt, underwear, the works. Our shoes and socks seem okay, otherwise get it all."

"What in the world were you doing?"

"Jeremy," exclaimed Damon at the end of his patience. "Are you stupid? Just do what I said, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah. All right. Oh, Bonnie has a couple of blankets she got from the car. Can she bring them back to you?"

"That will be great! Thanks Bonnie. I'm glad someone can think."

"Thank you Bonnie," giggled Elena.

Bonnie came into the clearing making an effort to avoid looking at Damon, carrying two blankets. Elena took them from her, gave one to Damon and wrapped herself in the other. Then she gave Bonnie a fierce hug. "I am so glad to actually hold you in my arms!"

"Me too," laughed Bonnie.

"So how much do you know about what's been happening?"

"I pretty well know it all. Maybe not the details, but definitely the gist," Bonnie replied.

"What are your thoughts?" Elena asked apprehensively.

"It's a hard road you two have taken. But, from what I gather from the other side, the repercussions over time are going to be awesome. You guys are the rock in the pond that is going to change the world."

"Then you approve?"

"It's not for me to approve or disapprove, Elena. What you guys are doing is necessary and important. It's not something I would have chosen for you, but I am very proud to be your friend."

Elena hugged Bonnie again. "That means a lot."

Bonnie glanced over at the body, "What do we do about him?"

"That's my job. Don't worry, I have that covered," answered Damon. Then he shouted out to the woods around him, "Once I get some clothes!"


	13. Damon the Next Day

Chapter 19

Damon

Once they all returned to the house, Elena took a long soak in the tub, went to bed, and went straight off to sleep. Bonnie and Jeremy left to be alone at Bonnie's house. Before they left Bonnie told Damon, "Elena has been through a lot. Don't be concerned if she sleeps most of the day tomorrow."

Damon nodded, "Thanks, I'll just sleep down here."

Bonnie smiled, "Damon, you can sleep wherever you like, Elena isn't going to notice." More seriously, Bonnie added, "The magic used today was beyond me, it was beyond Emily. It goes back to the source used to create vampires in the first place. This has been a very big deal, Damon. I want you to know that."

"Yes, we need to talk about that. I'm pretty sure more was done today than simply protecting ourselves from our own selfishness."

"Of course, we'll talk. I'll explain as much as I can. It will be made clear at the appropriate time. There is much that is still uncertain. I'll see you tomorrow." Bonnie waved as she and Jeremy left.

"Witches," Damon muttered to himself. "They are always holding something back."

Damon poured a bourbon and water and sat down with a book to read. At least, he held a book pretending to read as he consider the past few days, and especially today. From the moment he had first met Elena he had felt as though his life had been taken over by forces beyond his comprehension. His independent spirit resented the idea, but in reality he had never been happier. He reflected back on the past 169 years of his life, before and after he had been turned. All he had done was drift along, gratifying his own desires and reacting to events out of his control. Since Elena, there had been purpose, even if it wasn't a purpose of his choosing.

Damon laughed to himself, he wasn't much for flowery language but the metaphor of a swamp verses a mountain stream was too tempting to resist. He was certainly in a mountain stream now, with water that was pure and a current that was swift. There was probably a waterfall somewhere ahead, but that would be okay too. Being carried along with Elena made everything good.

Damon fully appreciated the irony. He had been so angry with Stefan for chasing after Elena when he had first arrived at Mystic Falls. That was easily the most deliberately selfish thing Stefan had ever done. Damon had been confused about why he cared so much what Stefan did. Looking back, he realized even as he was trying to rescue Katherine from the tomb, all that mattered to him was Elena's happiness. He knew that Elena would not be able to remain human and be with a vampire. However, to deliberately turn her into one was unthinkable. Who would have guessed that she would be this wonderful, even as a vampire? If Damon had had his way, Stefan and him would have left Mystic Falls, leaving Elena alone as a human and he would be out of her life, and she out of his. By defying him, Stefan had brought about the happiest period of Damon's life.

Damon wondered briefly where Stefan was, and then shrugged his shoulders. He had been looking for indications that Stefan had gone berserk as the slicer again, but there had been no hint of that. He guessed Stefan was out in the woods somewhere doing what he liked to do best, brood and hunt bunnies.

With that little moment of malice towards his kid brother out of the way, Damon finished off his drink and went to bed. As Bonnie predicted, Elena never stirred. The moon shined through the window and highlighted her face. He remembered how she had looked when he had drunk all of her blood and shuddered. Even though he had been compelled to do so, to have rendered such beauty to a dried and shriveled hag was a crime against nature. Part of him wanted to get Elena to erase the image from his mind, but somehow he thought doing that would be unworthy of her. It would be like trying to forget her willingness to sacrifice herself for others. Damon kissed her good night and was quickly asleep as well.

His alarm went off at 7 the next morning. Damon quickly reached and silenced it, but he didn't need to worry. Elena was still fast asleep. Damon got out of bed. He needed to take care of Nate's body before the day became warm. In the division of labor that had evolved between Elena and him, the cleanup afterwards had fallen to him. It wasn't as grisly a task as one would think. Most of the cleanup didn't involve the body but dealt with the consequences of their victims actions. Many times there were families that had no idea what had happened to their loved one. As heartbreaking as the news was, being told was better than not knowing. Damon was actually looking forward to today. Telling Rhonda that she no longer had anything to fear should be welcome news.

At first, Elena had been involved with the cleanup as well, but she discovered that dealing with the sorrow of the families and loved ones was more than she could bear. Because of the way she brought herself to know her victims at their end, when she encountered his victims, she found herself feeling the guilt he should have felt as a consequence of his actions. At first, she believed this should be part of the process, but soon concluded it was not something she could continue to bear and it accomplished nothing. Now, Damon handled all of that and she looked forward to his relating how what she had done had eased the suffering of others.

Damon had put Nate in a body bag and in the trunk of his car last night. He had also looked up Rhonda Justice on the internet and had her address and directions. He was counting on her being at home. If not, he would have to go ahead and dispose of Nate's body and then inform her another way that Nate was out of her life.

He arrived at Lynchburg and found Rhonda's home in less than two hours. Seeing a car in the driveway he was hopeful that she was home. Damon backed the car up into the driveway and then went to the front door to ring the bell. The woman who answered looked like someone who had given up on life. Her brown hair hung limply around her shoulders and although it was clean, it was obvious that she had not really given any attention to it or any other aspect of her appearance. The wasted look of her face and arms told the story of someone worn down with stress. She obviously had not eaten or slept properly for days or weeks.

"Are you Rhonda Justice?" asked Damon.

The woman looked around apprehensively. "There is no one by that name here, please go away," she replied, her voice trembling in fear. She began to close the door in Damon's face, but he blocked it with his foot.

This time, using his ability to compel, he asked "Are you Rhonda Justice?"

Unwillingly, the woman nodded her head. "What do you want? I'm not supposed to see anyone. He will hurt my brother if he finds out. Please go away."

"Is your brother here now?"

Again the woman nodded. She was becoming increasingly frightened as she found herself being forced to answer Damon's questions.

Again using his compulsion, Damon instructed Rhonda, "Follow me to the car. There is something you need to know."

As Rhonda followed Damon, she tried one last time to get him to leave. "You don't know what you are doing. You are going to cause my brother to be harmed. There's no telling what he will do to me."

When Damon got to the car he opened the trunk and unzipped the bag enough to reveal Nate's face. "Is this the man you're afraid of?"

When Rhonda saw Nate, obviously dead, she gave out a convulsive sob and collapsed on the ground crying hysterically. "Is he dead? Is he really dead?" she kept asking herself over and over.

Damon sat down on the ground next to her and held her in his arms and repeated softly every time she asked, "Yes he is, he can never hurt anyone again."

Eventually, Rhonda regained some control and asked Damon, "Can I look at him again? I need to be sure."

Damon nodded, "Do whatever you need to. I'm sorry to bring him here like this, but I thought it best if you saw him yourself to be absolutely certain."

As Rhonda stared down at the body, she nodded. "If you had just told me, I never would have believed you. May I touch him?"

Damon hesitated, and asked "You just want to touch him to be sure he's dead? It would be better if you don't do anything else."

Rhonda looked at him questioning and then understood, "Oh, you're afraid I'll attack him in a rage or something. No, I'm under control now."

Damon nodded, "Go ahead, as I said, do what you need to. How about your brother, does he need to see him?"

Rhonda hesitantly touched Nate's face with her finger and nodded her head in satisfaction. "How did he die? Did you kill him? Did you make him pay?"

"How he died is not important, but no, we didn't try to make him pay. That responsibility is not ours. We are just concerned with stopping him from hurting others."

"I would have made him pay."

"Of course you would have. It's better though if you let that part go. What about your brother?"

Rhonda thought for a second, "Is it possible for you to wait? I'll go talk to him."

"Don't be long, but yes I can wait."

Rhonda was back soon and said, "Danny is fine. He doesn't need to come out. He is autistic, so he doesn't relate with things like this."

"Very well, Rhonda, I can help you regain a normal life if you let me help you."

Rhonda laughed bitterly, "I don't even know what normal means. Just by bringing him here has helped, how can you help anymore?"

"Here, just relax," replied Damon.

Damon then began to work with Rhonda's memories. Elena and he had learned much about how to help victims at this point. At first he had been like a sledge hammer, eliminating memories arbitrarily. They had learned that this left too many unanswered questions. What Rhonda needed was emotional distance and perspective. So instead of eliminating her memories, Damon made them more distant, vaguer, as though it had happened in a movie, rather than to her. When Damon finished and drove away, it was as if Rhonda had become a different person. With the stress gone, she appeared years younger. She smiled as she waved good bye and then went inside.

Damon drove to the service station where Nate had left his truck. There was only the attendant present. Using compulsion Damon got the man to help dump Nate in the woods nearby. Then he compelled the attendant to wait a week before calling the police about an abandoned vehicle. Of course after all that, he made sure the attendant would not remember him, or the fact that Nate had rendezvoused with Michael the day before. Having covered everything, Damon returned home feeling that the day had gone very well.

Note from the author:

I have to take a several week sabbatical from posting any additional chapters. Life tends to get in the way sometimes and I have some commitments that I've been neglecting. I am writing now to assure any readers who are interested that I will post additional chapters and will finish the story. In fact I have the conclusion in draft now, so I will be coming back. I also have some decisions to make about how the story will progress from here. I have to decide what to do with several of the characters and have an OC in the works to introduce. The published chapters have taken the Vampire Diary story through the summer. Caroline and Katherine will be starting college soon and Jeremy is finishing high school.


	14. Now that Bonnie's Back

**Now That Bonnie's Back**

When Damon arrived home he saw Bonnie's car in the driveway. He wasn't sure whether to be glad to see her, or sorry. Regardless of her witchiness, he knew she was a good friend and he owed her a lot, his life even. He also knew that the three of them needed to discuss what happened yesterday and what its ramifications were. He had been looking forward to some time alone with Elena to discuss how things went with Rhonda. In any case, he sighed, she was here, so he might as well be happy to see her.

He found Bonnie and Elena laughing together in the living room. "There was a time," Damon drawled, "when being dead actually meant something."

Bonnie looked over at him as he entered the room and smiled, "Are you disappointed, Damon?"

Damon reached out and gave Bonnie a hug hello, "Hell no. Life would be boring without having our favorite witch around."

Bonnie laughed and then grew serious, "There have been times when our friendship has not been as important to me as it should be. I hope you can forgive me."

Damon nodded, "Of course, we all have had our times when we've all had our priorities out of whack."

Bonnie cocked her head to the side and teased him, "I think since you and Elena have been together, your priority has been pretty well nailed down."

Damon glanced at Elena, who was sitting smiling at him, swirling the wine in her glass around, "It's interesting how life can be very complicated and very simple at the same time."

"How did things go with Rhonda?" Elena asked.

"It's hard to find the right words. That guy Nate was a real dick. He was really messing her up. Once she got over the shock of seeing him dead it was like she became 10 years younger. She has a little brother who is autistic. Apparently Nate was using him against her. She seems like she will be able to bounce back."

Elena smiled again and nodded her head. "It's good to have someone alive who can bounce back."

"When I was on the other side, it never occurred to me that you dealt with the aftermath of what these men do."

Elena nodded, "I don't, really. Damon takes care of that. We've worked together on his ability to deal with their memories. He's learned," Elena paused for the right word, "subtlety."

Damon laughed, "I bet you didn't think I had that in me, did you Bonnie? Did you think I could ever be subtle?"

Bonnie refused to laugh in return. "There are a number of things about you Damon that I never though was in you. I'm really proud of you."

At Bonnie's praise, Elena gave Damon a hug and whispered "I love you," in his ear.

Uncomfortable with the sentimental tone that had occurred, Damon interrupted, "Okay Bonnie, you've been softening me up for some bad news, spill it. What have your pals from the other side done to us?"

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders. "I think you pretty well know all there is to know at this time. Damon, you've been limited in your ability to kill. You can't use killing as a solution for any problem. You can only kill in self-defense or to protect your family. Elena, you can only drink blood in the pursuit of the cause you have taken up. Violation of these oaths will cause your deaths. In Elena's case, it means that you must continue to hunt to survive. Protecting others from human predators has become a source of survival for you. In either case, when the life of one ends, the other's will cease soon after."

"Yeah, who is going to be the judge, and who is going to be the executioner?" queried Damon.

"You are yourselves. If you don't believe in what you are doing, you're bodies will stop functioning. It's that simple. The magic that bound you together will use your own hearts to judge you."

Damon thought this over, then glanced at Elena and smirked, "You said I've learned subtlety. Witches, they know how to be subtle. Okay, so what else, Bonnie?"

Bonnie hesitated, "That's all I can tell you right now. There may be something else, but it isn't certain yet."

Elena asked, "If one of us dies from another cause, what happens then?"

"It doesn't matter," replied Bonnie. "Together you may live forever. When one is lost, the other will follow."

Damon thought for a minute and then shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I need to be more careful. What is it that you can't tell us now, Bonnie?"

"I can't say, because I don't know. In a few weeks, I'll either be able to explain further or I'll tell you there is nothing more to explain. That's all I'm going to say right now."

Elena nodded her head. "We can wait. Bonnie, there are some personal things Damon and I need to discuss. Can we have some time alone?"

Bonnie nodded. "Sure, I'm going over to the Mystic Grill to see Jeremy. I'll see you later."

After Bonnie left, Damon complained, "Elena, I would have liked to have pushed her harder. You let her off easy."

Elena shook her head. "I know Bonnie, and I know when to let it go. Pushing her would have only made her more determined and we would end up in a place with her that we don't want to be. Besides, Damon, I want to talk about us." As Elena said that she raised her right hand up wiggling the day ring that Stefan had given her.


	15. Getting Married

**Getting Married**

Damon immediately put Bonnie out of his mind and became more attentive to what Elena was saying. "Okay," he said carefully, "what do you have on your mind?"

"What did you have in your mind when you asked me to be your wife?" she responded.

Damon considered and then spoke, "A few moments ago, Bonnie was observing how my priorities had simplified since you and I have been together. I'm tired of the ambiguity of that phrase. I don't want us to be regarded as being together. It sounds temporary. I want us to be known as husband and wife, as permanent."

Elena nodded, "That's right, we're permanent. I know this is selfish, but I'm glad that neither one of us can leave the other behind. I don't want to be left behind, and I don't want to leave you behind. We are permanent, in this world and the world beyond. I hope you won't be disappointed but I don't want a traditional ceremony. If I had thought ahead I would have asked to exchange rings yesterday. I was thinking before Bonnie came, let's pick out our rings, have our closest friends over, and exchange rings then."

Damon breathed a sigh of relief, "To be honest I hadn't given a wedding ceremony much thought. Frankly, I'd have endured one for your sake, but I really am glad not to have too. Do you want to help pick out your ring or do you want to be surprised?"

"We'll go together, but I want to pick your ring, and I want you to pick mine. I don't want to pick my own ring."

"Best place to go is New York."

Elena smiled brilliantly. "That sounds wonderful, let's go tomorrow."

Elena and Damon flew out the next day and spent the remainder of the week shopping in New York. Damon was a little surprised that Elena had no interest in hunting while they were there. When he had asked her, she simply shook her head and replied, "This trip is about us, Damon, only us." It didn't take them long to choose matching wedding bands, white gold sculpted as two ropes braided together. Once they had decided, the jeweler told them it would be a couple of days before the rings would be sized correctly and ready.

While they were in the city, Damon took the opportunity to make some discreet inquiries whether there was any fallout from their previous visit. He was happy to learn that the police had found the woman's son and tracked down her parents who now had custody of their grandchild. He also discovered that the woman's name had actually been Cassandra, and that Mattie had been an alias. Damon had wondered at the time how he and Elena had been able to enter the apartment while she was still alive. Now he understood, since she had used an alias the apartment didn't really classify as anyone's home.

Damon also used the time to learn more about large monetary transactions, how to launder the money and move it around to protect the owner's identity. He had been thinking about organized crime, specifically the drug organizations. He had realized the heads of these syndicates couldn't be touched by Elena as they never got their hands dirty. However, that didn't mean that he and Elena couldn't use their powers of compulsion to separate these men from their ill-gotten gains. Besides, he thought, money is the life blood of these organizations, so why not? It wasn't much of a stretch to consider that a vampire should be draining the life blood of these monster syndicates, just as they were draining the life blood of individual monsters.

When they returned from New York, they took some time to discuss some practical details.

"How many identities have you established, Damon?"

"Two complete identities for you, Andrea Williams and Michelle Overbay. These are pretty complete with passport, social security, high school transcript, and enough credit history to be creditable. Then you have four travel identities with a US, driver's license and credit cards only. You've been using these when we've travelled.

Elena nodded. "What about you?"

"Pretty much the same, Paul Madison and Ken Ladbrook are my complete identities. I only have three travel identities at the moment. Also, I've started birth records for an additional two for each of us that we can build as time goes."

"I don't understand."

"The problem with living a long time is that after a few years it won't be creditable for you to be known as Elena Gilbert. You'll have to have another identity on hand to transition over. You'll have to become Elena Gilbert's daughter, then grand-daughter etc. It's easier if we plan ahead, create birth records for a new born now and build a history as we go."

"How long can I remain Elena Gilbert?"

"50 years ago you had to roll over identities much sooner, no more than 10 years. Life was a lot harder then, people aged faster, there were less ways to keep looking young. Now, you can carry off staying Elena for 20 years. After you turn 40 it will become more difficult."

"How much trouble will it be to change my other names to Andrea Madison and Michelle Ladbrook?"

"Ah yes, good thinking, Elena. It won't be hard. We just have to have three marriage licenses made instead of just ours."

"Why'd you say I would need to become my daughter or grand-daughter? Why couldn't I just become someone else?"

"Well it depends. If we move someplace completely different then, sure you can be someone else completely. But if we ever come back to a place where we've lived before then we have to account for the physical resemblance. For example, let's say we move to New York for 20 years and then come back here. If you run into a school teacher, or school friend who knows you now, they'll recognize you. You will need an explanation. Generally people will accept that you look like your mother and of course there are things you can change about yourself, hair style, make-up etc. to minimize the resemblance. But people won't buy that two non-related people can look that much alike."

Elena sighed, "It hadn't occurred to me until now, but as I get older I will have to be always living a lie."

Damon nodded then shrugged, "It's worse in a small town like Mystic Falls. It's a lot easier in the cities. We'll have to move away in a few years. After 5 or 6 decades we'll be able to come back. The thing I worry about is the progression towards digitizing biometric data. So long as we're dealing with people our ability to compel someone to see and believe what we want protects us. You can't compel a damn computer. Once they establish national databases of our fingerprints and DNA, things will become tougher."

"What will we do then?"

"We'll have to penetrate the organizations that keep the databases. The good thing is, no matter how computerized things get, there will always be a human element. That's the point of weakness."

"I wonder how identical Katherine and I really are."

Damon looked sharply at Elena, "What are you asking?"

"A few weeks ago, Katherine and I examined ourselves in detail. We couldn't find a single difference between us. Is it possible we even have the same fingerprints?"

Damon stood up and paced the floor, "That had never occurred to me. We should find out without letting Katherine know. We'll have to enlist Sheriff Forbes help."

"Damon, there is one thing I want you to promise me."

Coming from Elena, this sounded rather ominous, "What is that Elena?"

"Whatever our identity, I don't want us to ever be anything but husband and wife."

Damon hesitated. He didn't like making promises like this. They had a tendency to come back and bite you in the ass later. "There may be an occasion when it would be safer not to be."

Elena shook her head, "I don't care. This is one thing that I'm not going to lie about, Damon."

He sighed, "Very well, I promise. Speaking of husband and wife, have you called Bonnie to cast her day ring spell on our new rings?"

Elena brightened at the question. "Yes, she's coming over tomorrow afternoon. Why don't we make that our marriage ceremony? After she casts the spell on our rings we put them on each other's finger and we'll be married."

Damon laughed, "You're certainly keeping this simple. But I think it's perfect."

"Good, I'll call Caroline, I'm sure Jeremy will come over with Bonnie."

Damon nodded, "I guess I'm going to have to track down Stefan."

Elena nodded. "It would have been nice to have him here, but I don't want to wait. What about Katherine?""

"I don't know, does she count as family?"

"At this moment, not really, but I want her to be. I'm afraid that if I don't ask her, it will be more difficult to be friends later."

"That's settled then," replied Damon. "Anyone else?"

Elena shook her head.

"Well, three o'clock worked well for us last time, say three tomorrow?"

"Yes, that's good, but we'll meet here at the house. I don't want to get married at the tomb."

Damon laughed, "No, I would never consider that. Here at the house is great."

Caroline and Katherine arrived at the Salvatore home later that evening. They were still engrossed in making plans for the coming semester. They would be starting as freshman in only one week. Elena was watching them carefully and smiled to herself in relief. It looked as though her experiment of putting Katherine and Caroline together might actually work.

Katherine noticed Elena watching and smirked in amusement. She suggested that Caroline go to the cellar to get a bottle of wine and after Caroline left told Elena, "You're not worried are you? Do you think I'm going to do some dastardly deed to your best friend, or are you concerned I'll replace you as her best friend?"

"I'm more concerned about the former than the latter," Elena replied.

"You don't think I can be a better friend for Caroline than you?" Katherine challenged.

"No, I don't think being a good friend should ever be a competition."

That stopped Katherine as she considered what Elena had said. She nodded, "You're right. Don't worry Elena, it's going to work with Caroline and I. I really want it to. I also want things to work between us. Do you think that's possible?"

Elena nodded, "I certainly don't want us to be enemies anymore."

Katherine grinned, "I can imagine. I'll try to be good, although the opportunities for mischief as your identical twin are many."

Elena smiled grimly, "I'll need to enlist Damon's help in devising schemes for getting revenge."

"Revenge for what?" Caroline asked as she returned from the wine cellar. "What's happened that you need to get revenge, Elena?"

"Nothing, Caroline. Only planning for the future if my doppelganger friend starts screwing with me."

Caroline looked at Elena and Katherine and realized how complicated her life could get if she becomes friends with both and they decide not to get along. "Listen you two. You need to promise me to play nice. A little harmless pranking is one thing, but don't put me in the middle. Especially with you being identical. I don't need that kind of stress."

Elena laughed and gave Caroline a hug. "Okay, Caroline, we'll play nice, won't we, Katherine?"

Katherine grinned, "Sure, just a little harmless pranking every now and then."

Elena sighed. "Look, there's something I need to tell you both. Damon and I are getting married tomorrow, here at the house at 3 and I'd like you both here."

Caroline screamed and just about broke Elena's neck with hugging her so hard. "Of course I'll be here. But how can you plan a wedding that fast? You need a couple of months at least."

"Caroline, I said we're getting married, I did not say there would be a wedding. We're just exchanging rings and that's it. Don't think you're going to take this over and turn it into a circus."

Caroline pouted. "Elena, I swear you take all the fun out of things. How can you not have a wedding?"

"Caroline," Katherine interrupted impatiently, "let her be. I'd love to be there, Elena. Are you sure you want me there? I know we both said we want to be friends, but we haven't really been friends yet."

Elena took Katherine's hand, "There are times when you have to earn something and there are times it needs to be given in faith. I want you there because I have faith in our future."

Moved, Katherine raised her glass in a toast, "To us, and our future friendship."

Elena and Caroline responded, "Friends"

Soon after, Caroline went home and Katherine went to her room. Elena carefully took her wine glass and Katherine's and put them in zip lock bags to take to Sheriff Forbes later.

The next day, everyone was present for the ceremony. Elena asked Damon if he had talked to Stefan and Damon shook his head. "Stefan never answered his phone."

"Are you worried?"

"Not really," replied Damon. "We've gone through things similar to this before. It's not unusual for Damon to withdraw completely."

"Did you leave any messages?"

Damon grimaced, "Only that I have some news and that he should call me."

Elena nodded, "I understand. It's hard to know exactly how to handle situations like this."

Bonnie asked, "Are you having anyone actually perform a ceremony?"

Elena shook her head no. "Damon and I are just going to speak to each other. It's not going to be much of a ceremony, I'm afraid."

It occurred to Elena that she did not want to be wearing the ring that Stefan had given her when she received her ring from Damon. She took it off and set it aside. Then she walked over toward Damon's side, unwittingly walking through the sunlight coming through the window. Damon saw what she was about to do and tried to cry out a warning but it was too late, Elena was already exposed to the sunlight, and nothing happened. Damon stifled his cry of warning as Elena took her position beside him. Damon gave Bonnie a hard stare and saw that she had noticed what had happened as well and had a slight smile on her face. Damon saw her nod to herself.

"Damn witches," he muttered to himself.

Elena noticed him scowling and drew back in confusion. Damon responded quickly with a quick kiss and asked her if she had the ring. Elena nodded and whispered "Is something wrong?"

Damon whispered back "I'm not sure, I don't think so. We'll talk later, with Bonnie."

Elena glanced at Bonnie as Damon announced to everyone, "We're ready to begin, everyone."

Damon removed the day ring he had worn for so many decades and then turned to Elena and said, "I promise to be your husband so long as I am alive. I will wear your ring as a seal for the vow I make." Damon held out his hand and Elena slid her ring onto his finger.

Elena responded, "I promise to be your wife so long as I am alive. I will wear your ring as a seal for the vow I make." Damon placed his ring on her finger.

Once this simple ceremony was complete, all present applauded and spoke at once in congratulations. During the bedlam that followed, Damon sidled over to Bonnie and whispered to her, "You saw what happened?" Bonnie nodded. "She wasn't wearing any ring and the sunlight didn't affect her."

"Yes, what I was referring to earlier has come to pass. There is more to explain, when everyone leaves. I think you will consider it good news."

"Yeah," Damon drawled, "I'll decide whether it's good news or not."


	16. A Big Surprise

**A Big Surprise!**

Elena quickly picked up on the different moods of Bonnie and Damon. She was aware of a feeling of triumph from Bonnie and a feeling of tension from Damon. The combination of the two, especially Damon's tension, caused Elena to feel deeply apprehensive. Without being aware of what she was doing, her sense of apprehension affected everyone present. All the things people naturally had on their mind became significantly more important. They all suddenly felt an urgent need to be about their business and began making excuses to explain why they felt the need to leave. After they left, they stopped to wonder why some of these things had become suddenly so urgent. Katherine and Jeremy especially, wondered why it had been so important for them to leave and why they were so loathe to go back.

Bonnie was especially puzzled why she was so conflicted. Her mind knew that she had to stay and explain to Damon and Elena what was happening but deep down, she really wanted to go as well. Then she noticed the tension in Elena's expression and understood what was happening. Bonnie observed the tension Damon was experiencing and thought at first he was being affected as well. Then she realized that Damon was the cause of Elena's tension. She took a moment to consider how much power Elena had to affect the people around her and how important Damon was to how Elena dealt with everyone else.

"Elena," she called to her. "Elena you need to calm your thoughts, it's driving us away. Damon, relax, it will be okay, I promise."

Realizing what was happening, Elena stopped projecting her own feelings. Bonnie immediately felt the tension within to subside. "Damon, what is wrong?" Elena questioned.

"Before we exchanged rings, you walked through sunlight without any day ring and nothing happened. Something has changed, probably as a result of our oath." To demonstrate, Damon took off his ring and quickly passed his hand through the sunlight and it immediately began to smoke.

Elena took off her ring and did the same, but in her case there was no reaction. Then she held her hand in the sunlight. Nothing happened for several minutes before the exposed skin began to smolder. Even then she held it in the light for several more minutes before she actually felt more heat than she could bear. However, when she removed her hand, it took much longer than normal to heal. In fact, it remained red from the burn until the next day.

Elena turned to Bonnie and asked, "What is happening to me?"

"You're becoming human," Bonnie replied.

Elena received this news as though ice cold water suddenly drenched her. A single shocked "NO!" escaped, expelling the air from her lungs. It took a few moments for her body to remember to breath and she drew in air forcibly and then expelled again with another single word "WHY?"

The shock of the news held Damon motionless. The news was devastating for him. 'What am I supposed to do now?' he wondered. Fear hit him like a sledge hammer. What would happen to Elena and him now? What happened to all the promises of being inseparable for eternity? Rage suddenly consumed him. How dare Bonnie snatch his happiness away like this? Before he had time to think he attacked Bonnie, lifting her up of the floor by her head. "Witch," he hissed in her face. "Betrayer!"

In spite of her shock, Elena was still able to react in time to avert the tragedy that was about to occur. She body blocked them both, knocking them apart. The force spun Damon around, but temporarily knocked Bonnie senseless. "Damon wait, you can't, not yet!"

It was noteworthy that Elena had not completely excluded killing Bonnie. Her anger at the news was building. Whereas Damon reacted like a match to gasoline, Elena's anger was slow to ignite but was building with no end in sight for its crest to occur.

While Bonnie recovered her senses, Elena paced the floor, clenching and unclenching her fists. It just didn't make sense! There had to be more. These powers that Bonnie was involved with wouldn't go through all this to render her human. The arrogance of how these beings would meddle in her life was incalculable. The prospect of growing old and dying while Damon stayed young nauseated her. She realized that their time together would not be 60 years, but much less. Could she stand the humiliation of being called Damon's wife, then mother, and finally grandmother? She couldn't bear to consider it any further.

Bonnie finally began to recover, coughing to force her lungs to bring in much needed air. As she raised herself off the floor to her hands and knees, Elena crouched next to her and brought her mouth to Bonnie's ear. "How could you do this to me? Surely you couldn't be so stupid as to think this is something I wanted? When did you become my enemy, Bonnie?"

Bonnie shook her head in denial, "I'm not your enemy, Elena. You have to believe me. This change is not permanent, it won't last, I promise."

Elena felt weak with relief. There was another explanation. There had to be. "How long? How long must I remain human?"

"Why did you feel necessary to make her human at all?" queried Damon. "Why do you feel you can do just anything you want? How can you condemn vampires when you witches are just as bad or worse?"

"Let me explain," replied Bonnie. "I promise when you understand, you won't be so angry."

Damon's answer was simply to lean back against the wall with his arms crossed, waiting. Elena replied softly, "I want to hear, Bonnie. How long must I remain human? Why am I becoming human?"

"You're pregnant, Elena. You have to be human to give birth to your children. Once they are weaned, you'll become a vampire again."

As much as a shock becoming human was, this was ten times more shocking. It was impossible for either Damon or Elena to comprehend. The strength left Damon's legs and he slid soundlessly to sit on the floor where he had been leaning against the wall before. Elena simply sat down where she was.

Pregnant! By all the gods, I'm pregnant! Elena kept repeating these words to herself over and over again. Her mind was stuck on this one simple statement and couldn't move on to comprehend what it meant. Damon finally got her mind unstuck with a profoundly stupid question, "Uh, Bonnie, I don't suppose you have one of those pregnancy test kits on hand, just to be sure?"

"No Damon," replied Bonnie dryly. "I'm afraid I don't keep those handy. I wouldn't have told you this if I wasn't sure."

"Uh, Elena? Don't you think we ought to confirm it, you know, uh, scientifically, just to be sure?"

Somehow, Damon's reliance on science at this point seemed to be absurdly funny to Elena. She began to chuckle. As she laughed she began to review her last three years of her life. Three years ago she was a normal teenager who had just broken up with her boyfriend because he was becoming too serious. It was as though the gods were determined to demonstrate just how serious life could be. She became an orphan. She fell in love, and then discovered her lover was a vampire. Discovered her best friend was a witch, saw her other best friend become a vampire and kill somebody. Found out about werewolves. She became a human sacrifice, became a vampire. She saw her brother die, several times. Now she was a vigilante. She fell in love with another vampire, so deeply that life had no meaning without him. And now, the one thing she thought could never happen to her was happening. She carried a life in her belly.

Suddenly, she recalled Bonnie's words. "Children? You said children. What did you mean?"

Bonnie was becoming a little concerned about her friend's reaction. She wished she had been more careful in how she told them, but it was too late now. "I was told that if you became pregnant, you would have twins, a boy and a girl. You and Damon have become another set of Originals."

So now she was an Original. Elena began to laugh harder. It was contagious, Damon started to grin and then laugh. Bonnie was beginning to think that they had lost their minds but began to laugh with them as well. Elena's laugh soon became uncontrollable, even hysterical. Damon went over to her and hugged her as they both laughed until they were crying. From this point, the damn burst for Elena and she began to sob uncontrollably, with her face buried in Damon's chest, her whole body rocked with each gasp. At last, the sobs quieted and Elena pulled away slightly and looked up into Damon's face.

"Did you want children? We've never discussed it before."

Damon gently kissed the tears off her face and said, "Of course I do. At least there was a time before when I did. But I never believed it would be possible. Yes, I do want children, although I don't have a clue about being a Dad."

As Damon and Elena spent the next few moments completely engrossed in each other, contemplating the news, Bonnie began to relax. For a moment, she had been concerned that the news would be unwelcome. She had assured Emily that Elena would welcome being a mother and that Damon would be okay with whatever made Elena happy. For a moment she had thought that she had been totally wrong about Elena, but now she realized the initial reaction was shock at the clumsy way she delivered the news. Bonnie wondered whether she should discretely leave them alone or wait for the inevitable questions.

"Ahem, I suppose you need some time, so I'll be going. We'll talk again soon."

Damon broke away from Elena and with vampire quickness blocked Bonnie's exit. "Uh-uh, you're not going anywhere. I haven't worked out yet whether I'm pissed, delighted, scared, or what. But I want to know everything, now. First of all, who is the dick who is calling the shots regarding our lives."

Bonnie grimaced at the idea of the powers she had been in contact with on the other side being referred to as Dicks. She supposed it was typical Damon bravado. "Ultimately, this is according to the wishes of the Creator and Destroyer together. Whether they chose you specifically or you were chosen by those directly responding to their wishes, I don't know. I believe that you, Elena, were specifically formed for this purpose. Damon, it would be fair to say that when Elena chose you, you became part of it."

"What is the purpose?" asked Elena.

"To establish balance between the supernatural beings and the humans."

"This is a little too kum-ba-yah girl scout campfire stuff for me," sneered Damon. "What I want to know is a little closer to home. Who is filling you in, Bonnie? How much do you know and when did you know it?"

"Emily Bennett is the principle spokesperson," Bonnie replied. "She is acknowledged as the leader of the Bennett witches on the other side. You could say that she has been pretty active in matchmaking between you two for some time. Regarding how much do I know? I'm ready to tell you everything I know anytime. Honestly, there is not much left to tell you."

Damon and Elena sat down together on the couch. Damon nodded, "We're listening."


	17. The Rest of the Story

6/17/2015

The Rest of the Story

"It shouldn't be a surprise, Elena, that you have been marked since you were born. As a doppelganger you would have had to try very hard not to end up as a vampire."

"I thought I had been trying hard," protested Elena.

Bonnie gave Elena a pitying look. "Honestly, Elena, how did you think things would end with Stefan? Did you honestly think you would be able to grow old while Stefan stayed young? Did you think you could stay human living in the company of vampires? No Elena, it has always been a question of when, not if, once you let the Salvatores in your life. You might have a little more credibility if you had to make a choice between Stefan and a human, like Matt. But no, it was Stefan or Damon, another vampire. I'm not judging, Elena, it wouldn't have mattered, as I said you were marked to be a vampire. I'm just saying, you really didn't try very hard not to be one."

Elena sighed, "I guess you're right, Bonnie. I'm so sorry. All my friends tried so hard to protect me, and they suffered so much. You suffered more than anyone, Bonnie. How can you bear to still be my friend after all this?"

Bonnie nodded, "I have lost a lot, but I've gained a lot as well. If you had tried harder we probably would have suffered more. A lot of what I have lost has been my own fault. In any case, as a Bennett, I have been marked as much as you. However, back to the point, it has been the ambition of the spirit world to create another vampire species, one that exists in harmony with nature, not opposed to it. You've made choices that have separated you from other vampires. Your willingness to love, and then your pursuit of a meaningful life has separated you further. This has set you and Damon apart to be the originals for a new species."

"Are you saying my children will be born vampires?"

Bonnie shook her head, "They will be born human. They must make their own choices, just as you and Damon have."

"Our kids will have real choices," Damon growled. "We're not going to program them to comply with some cosmic scheme."

Elena squeezed Damon's hand in agreement. She hadn't any doubt where he would have stood, but it was good to hear him raise the point himself.

"Of course, they will," replied Bonnie.

"Seems like a pretty tenuous plan," observed Damon. "You're counting on two kids to choose vampirism and then to start a new species?"

Bonnie smiled, anticipating their reaction to the next piece of information. "Not just two kids, Damon. They will be the first."

"But you said that Elena will return to being a vampire after the birth. Will she still be fertile as a vampire?"

Bonnie shook her head, no. "Not exactly, just as a woman has a fertility cycle of 28 days, you and Elena will have a fertility cycle only it will be much longer, 28 years. This way you will have raised the kids you have before you have more. This way, you can continue with satisfying your oath. Elena will have to hunt to survive. She can't do that if she's raising dozens of children. Every 28 years you will be consumed with desire for each other and begin a new family. Your descendants will have the choice, first of all to become vampires, and then to take the oath. Those who take the oath will be part of the new species. Besides creating a new way of vampirism, this is the safeguard you asked for. Now as you bring human children into the world, as you have to experience humanity itself every 28 years, you will have to always remember your human origin and you will always have humans as important members of your life."

There was a stunned silence as Elena and Damon processed the news.

For Elena 28 years seemed unreal, she was only 19 for crying out loud. Even though she felt like she had lived a decade in the last two years, she had no frame of reference to really comprehend something that would occur 28 years later. Elena was trying to comprehend her life as a mother, an ageless vampire, and a hunter. She and Damon would have to make decisions about how to raise their children that have never been made before. The loss of her parents had been devastating, but never before had she so yearned to have her mother there with her now.

For Damon, starting a new family every 28 years was very real and both exciting and frightening. In just a few months he had progressed from being accountable to only himself, to being accountable to Elena, and now accountable not only as a father, but to a future species. Suddenly, he felt totally inadequate. The strength left his legs and he quickly sat down.

Bonnie smiled at Damon, "You're suddenly pale, Damon. You're not going to faint are you?'

Damon tried valiantly to pull off his trademark sardonic grin, but ended up with a grimace. "No, but you've really …" For the life of him, he could not come up with an adequate wise crack. Finally, he said simply, "You've really outdone yourself."

Bonnie shrugged, "It hasn't been just me, but thanks. I'll be interested to see how things turn out. I intend to hang out with you guys for the duration. I'll make sure there will be a witch on hand when my time comes to an end. Your descendants and mine will always have a connection."

"Goody, you know how much I love to have witches around," Damon teased.

Bonnie smiled, "The feelings mutual, I'm sure, Damon."

Knowing that Bonnie would be there and seeing the normal verbal sparring between her and Damon caused Elena to feel better. She loved Caroline, but there was no one she relied on more than Bonnie and Damon. Suddenly, she wondered what Caroline would think. "When do you think we should tell everyone the news?" she asked.

The question sobered Damon immediately. "That is a very interesting question. How will the vampires around the world react to an introduction of a new species? More immediately, how will Katherine and Rebekah take the news, or any of the originals for that matter? Will this be seen as a threat, do you think?"

"You would know better than I, Damon."

"I have nothing to go by. It's better to be safe. Elena, I think we will need to go into hiding until your back to being a vampire. I believe we have resolved things with Elijah and Klaus, but there's no telling what Klaus will do if he learns you're human and pregnant. Then there's Rebekah, she'll be so jealous she could spit."

Elena thought for a moment, the idea of going into hiding didn't bother her at all, so long as she could leave in a good way with Jeremy and Caroline. "We have to tell Jeremy. I'm not going to leave him out of this. We'll be able to keep in touch with everyone through Bonnie, right?"

Bonnie nodded thoughtfully. "I think you're right Damon, it would be safer to keep this a secret for as long as possible. Jeremy and I can cover for you. We don't need to know where you two will go, we just need a way to get in touch if necessary."

Damon stood up and began to pace the floor, "Do you think we can get Katherine to help without her actually knowing why?"

"I don't know Damon, if we compel her, she could turn on us," replied Elena.

"I agree, we don't compel her, we just cash in on how she owes us. We tell her we're going to see the world and we just need her to cover for us if someone is looking for us."

"Damon, she is creating her own life. I don't think we can ask her to put that on hold so she can help us."

"I don't see why not. Hell, she's mortal now because she tried to kill you. She still has a lot to prove. Besides, I'm not saying for her to put her life on hold, just to show up in Mystic Falls as you every now and then. Bonnie can keep an eye on her, and if she gets out of line, we pull the plug."

"I just don't see why this is necessary. If we tell everyone we're going on an extended world-wide vacation, they won't expect to see us until we get back."

"I can't stay away from Mystic Falls for a year or more, Elena," explained Damon. "I'm going to have to come back every now and then and if you're not with me, people are going to wonder where you are."

"Why? What will you have to do here?"

"Elena, even though we are vampires, we still need money to exist. I have interests in Mystic Falls and other places. They generally do okay without me, but I still have to check in."

"So you intend to be seen with Katherine pretending to be me? I'm not liking this very much. She's going to cause trouble."

"Trust me, Elena, it will be okay. Besides, you'll have Bonnie to keep an eye on things, right Bonnie?"

Bonnie nodded her head and pointed a finger at Damon, "You can count on it, Damon."

"Okay," Damon replied, "we'll talk to Katherine when she get's back. Well, Elena, where do you want to go, New York?"

"What Katherine was able to do in a small town was pretty impressive. We wouldn't have ever been able to find her if I hadn't been her doppelganger. Damon, you can compel almost all the residents like she did, and we'll have a buffer of protection if anyone comes looking for us."

Bonnie interjected, "The one vampire ability you will keep, Elena, is your ability to compel. That won't interfere with the health of your children and the spirits didn't want to leave you completely vulnerable."

"Let's choose a small town then, but close to a major city, like Charlotte."

Damon nodded, "I'll start looking for a place. We'll need a suitable home that's available to rent. It may take a few weeks, but I'm sure we'll find a place. Actually, I'd like to find a place close to the shore, if it's all the same to you."

Elena smiled, the prospect of long romantic walks along the shoreline was appealing. "I'd like that, Damon, I'd like that a lot."

Damon, Elena, and Bonnie spent the next few hours on the internet looking for property. They quickly concluded that there were many more choices in New England, north of Boston, especially as they would be in the off-season. They finally decided upon a small beach front cottage near Gloucester, Massachusetts. Elena found herself getting quite excited about spending the winter alone with Damon in this isolated little community. There had been so much suffering in Mystic Falls, she realized that a complete change of environment would be energizing.

Jeremy and Katherine returned at about the same time that Damon and Elena had booked a year's rental on the cottage. After getting a nod of agreement from Elena, Damon called out to Jeremy and Katherine, "Hey, we're in the library, can you two come in for a few minutes? There is something we want to talk about."

"You two are acting like an old married couple already. I was expecting to find you locked in your bedroom making noises of unbridled sex, and you're here in the library and want to talk?" teased Katherine.

"That's sort of what we want to talk to you about," smiled Elena. "Damon and I want to take a prolonged honeymoon, so we're going to be gone for a long time, at least a year. We'll be travelling around, seeing the world and all that. We don't want anyone looking for us but we want to keep in touch with what is going on here in Mystic Falls. We especially want to know if anyone is looking for us. So, Katherine, we would like you to help be sort of a smoke screen in regards to my whereabouts."

Katherine's eyes narrowed, "By smoke screen, you really mean target. What's going on? So you're going on a long honeymoon, big deal. Why this subterfuge? Are you expecting someone to come looking for you?"

"No, not really," replied Elena. "Just that, when Damon comes to town without me, we don't want anyone asking questions about where I am. So, when he's here, we'd like you to pretend to be me."

Katherine's mouth quirked in amusement. "Seriously? You want me to pretend to be Damon's wife with Damon? How far do you want me to go? Sounds like there may be some extra benefits to doing this favor. After all, Damon is pretty hot."

Elena's face flushed in annoyance. "We both know better, Katherine. Will you help or not?"

Katherine thought a moment, then shrugged. "Since I'm the one that's human, it seems I'm more at risk than you are, but sure, I'll help." Then Katherine grinned wickedly, "I'm sure I'll have some fun in any case. How will I get in contact with you if I need too."

"Call Bonnie, she'll know," replied Damon.

"This all sounds really fishy, when Damon Salvatore is trusting a witch to cover for him, and why would he be coming back to Mystic Falls without you? I thought honeymooners were supposed to be inseparable," observed Katherine.

"It may sound fishy, but it is not your concern, Katherine," growled Damon.

"Maybe it isn't right now, but when it does concern me, I'll expect some answers," warned Katherine.

"Fair enough," Elena agreed. "Jeremy, could we take a walk?"

Startled, Jeremy replied, "Sure, Elena, whatever you say."

As Elena and Jeremy went outside, Katherine sidled up to Damon. "What's going on, Damon? There's something different about Elena since you two officially became a couple. Now this marriage, whoever heard of vampires getting married? Now you have formed an alliance with the witches? That is really not like you."

Damon shrugged, "I'm not in any alliance with witches. I am committed to Elena and Bonnie is a major part of Elena's life. Bonnie is tied in with her ancestors, at least for the moment. I believe that she is committed to Elena as well. I'll tell you, Katherine, these two women are absolutely loyal to each other."

Katherine shrugged, and then unexpectedly lifted her head up to kiss Damon on his cheek. "Just practicing for when I get to play Elena. I'm going to make it fun. Good night, Damon."

After Katherine went to her room, Elena and Jeremy came back inside. Jeremy was clearly shaken. He went over to Damon to shake his hand, but Damon held his finger to his lips to ensure nothing was spoken. Jeremy nodded, shook Damon's hand and said, "I'm going to bed. I have a lot to think about."

6


	18. Stefan

**Stefan**

After Stefan had dumped Silas into the quarry, he just simply started to drive. For several days, he essentially followed his nose, which led him west. Uppermost in his mind was what he should do now. Without Elena he was cast adrift. He was not going to go back to being a slicer, however he needed something else to give him direction. First thing he needed to do was to understand how he lost her in the first place. Their love for each other was genuine and real, he was convinced of that. Somehow, he had lost it. Her change to a vampire was the key, but why couldn't they survive that? He had to understand before he could move on.

By the time he reached the Mississippi River, he had decided he would go all the way to the west coast. He'd always wanted to go to San Francisco, this seemed like a good time. He'd find a place on the outskirts where he could hunt and find work. He believed he could create a new life, people had done that for over a hundred years, create a new life in California.

Once he found a place and settled in he realized that he couldn't just let Elena go. He had to at least find out how she was doing. It didn't take long for him to find a witch who could help him. Her name was Sheena Batelle. Using a photograph of them at the lake house, she was able to locate Elena easily and reported to Stefan that Elena was well and happy.

It became a monthly ritual with Stefan, to find Sheena at her store and get her to cast the spell and tell him how Elena was doing. Each month it was the same, that Elena was well and happy. Stefan's obsession troubled Sheena, she just wasn't sure what to do about it. But, when Sheena noticed a gradual increase in power with Elena, she decided not to inform Stefan. In fact the change she could perceive in Elena troubled her as well. There was something happening that she didn't understand. When she consulted the spirits about what she was observing, she was instructed in no uncertain terms that it didn't concern her and she should keep her distance. She had been a witch for several years, and had never heard of any witch having a similar experience. There was something unprecedented happening and she really wanted to know more.

It came to a head the last time Stefan came to see her, three weeks after Elena and Damon were married. When he entered the store that day she couldn't resist teasing him a little. "Well, here is my favorite customer who keeps obsessing over his ex-girlfriend. Ready to make your monthly donation? When are you going to figure out that she is doing fine without you?"

To say that Stefan was annoyed would be an understatement. "Who says she's my ex-girlfriend?" he growled.

Sheena gave him a wink. "Stefan I know that I'm not stupid, but I'm not so sure about you. You're stalking this girl through magic. I can tell that when she's happy and well, you're both glad and disappointed. If that's not the sign of an ex-boyfriend who can't let go, then I don't know my job."

"Well, why don't you be quiet and do your job. Tell me how she's doing." Stefan was not in any mood to put up with any teasing by this witch, good-natured or not.

Sheena frowned, "If that's the way you're going to be, pay cash up front."

Stefan slapped a 100 on the table and sat back with his arms crossed waiting.

Sheena pulled out the photograph Stefan had given her, closed her eyes, and murmured her spell. There was a pause and then Sheena anxiously opened her eyes to glance at Stefan, then closed them and tried again with her spell. After another few moments she opened her eyes again, set the photograph down and asked Stefan, "Do you have something more personal of hers? Some hair perhaps, some blood would be even better."

"No, I don't. Why? You've never needed them before, unless you've been cheating me all this time."

"Now if I had been cheating you, why would I stop now? There's something unusual going on, and I need something to confirm it."

"What is it? What's happened to the girl?"

"I can't tell, because, well, you see, she's not there."

"You mean she's not in Mystic Falls?"

"No, I mean she's not anywhere."

"She's dead?"

"Maybe, but I don't think so. I would know if she were dead. I'm saying, the girl we've been spying on doesn't exist anymore. She's not there."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know, but I don't think that is the right question."

"What is the right question?"

"Who or what is she. The girl in this picture doesn't exist anymore. She has become someone or something else."

"You're not making any sense."

"That's because this doesn't make any sense."

"How about my brother? Can you find my brother?"

"Let me have your hand."

Stefan handed Sheena his hand. She took a knife and pricked his palm to get some blood. As he bled, she repeated her spell. This time it took no time to get a result. "He's out there, but I can't say more. He's being masked by another witch."

"Bonnie." Stefan muttered to himself. "She's involved somehow." Without a word to Sheena, Stefan left with vampire speed to return home. Not his home in California, but home in Mystic Falls.

By the next day, Stefan was flying back to Mystic Falls. His mood was deadly. In his mind he was convinced that a disaster had occurred to Elena and that it was Damon's fault. Why Bonnie would be covering for Damon escaped him, but he would get the truth soon. He vowed to himself that the retribution for Damon would be sure and unpleasant. All the disappointment and loss he had experienced was being funneled into his emotional state. When the agent at the gate announced the flight from Dulles to Mystic Falls would be delayed for an hour it took all of Stefan's self-control not to rip the man's head from his shoulders.

He finally arrived in Mystic Falls about midnight, rented a car and went to the Salvatore home. The place was empty. It didn't have the feel of an abandoned house, just one whose occupants were away for an extended period of time. Since it was late he resigned himself that he would have to track down Bonnie in the morning. Then he thought of Jeremy. Where was Jeremy? Maybe he should be the next person to find. He went to Jeremy's room and found that Jeremy's belongings were gone as well. He pulled out his cell phone, cursing his stupidity. He should have called Jeremy first thing.

"Hello?" Stefan heard Jeremy's groggy voice answering the phone.

"Jeremy? This is Stefan. Where are you?"

"Stefan? What are you doing? Do you know it's after midnight?"

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm sorry I'm calling this late," replied Stefan impatiently. "I'm at home here in Mystic Falls. Where are you?"

"You're in Mystic Falls? When did you get in? How come you didn't let us know you were coming?"

"Never mind all that! Where is Elena?"

There was a pause on the phone while Jeremy tried to collect his thoughts. "Just a minute, Stefan."

Stefan heard Jeremy talking to someone else. He thought it might be Bonnie. "Jeremy," he called out. "Jeremy, if Bonnie is with you, let me talk to her!"

"Hi Stefan, when did you get into town? You should have let us know you were coming," said Bonnie. Jeremy had happily handed the phone over to her.

"Bonnie, where is Elena!" Stefan had stated the question as a demand placing emphasis on each word.

"She's with Damon, Stefan. They are not in Mystic Falls at this time. They are happy together. You need to accept that. Listen, it's late. Jeremy has school tomorrow, but I can meet you for breakfast at the Grill."

"Where are you?"

"I'm at home. Since Elena and Damon have left, Jeremy is staying here with me and my Dad."

"Okay, I'll meet you for breakfast at about 8, but for the last time, where are Elena and Damon?"

There was a long pause before Bonnie finally replied, "I guess you could call it their honeymoon, Stefan."

Stunned, Stefan disconnected the phone without saying another word. Honeymoon, somehow that word more than any other impressed upon him the finality that the love affair between Elena and him was finally, irrevocably over. His first reaction was to get back into the car, drive to the airport and fly back to California. Then he realized how foolish that would be. He would never get a flight this time of night and there was still the unanswered question regarding what had happened to Elena. He would meet with Bonnie in the morning and then decide what to do.

When Bonnie realized that she had been disconnected she put the phone away thoughtfully. "Bonnie, what are you going to tell him?" asked Jeremy. "Why do you think he's here all of a sudden?"

"Bonnie?" Bonnie's dad called out. "What's going on? Who was that on the phone?"

"It was Stefan, Dad. He's calling to inquire about Damon and Elena."

"Didn't they tell him about the wedding?"

"I don't think so. I don't think they were able to get hold of him at the time."

"Hmm, is he going to be trouble? Do I need to meet with him?"

"No, Dad, I can handle Stefan. I think he just wants to know what has happened."

"It shouldn't fall to you to explain this. It should be Damon or Elena."

"I know Dad. I'm going to call them now and ask what they want me to do."

Bonnie pulled out her phone again and dialed Damon's number. The phone rang a number of times without an answer. She disconnected and dialed Elena's number with the same result. She sat for a moment trying to decide what message to leave when her phone rang. "Bonnie, since it is after midnight I assume this is very important." Damon drawled over the phone.

"I'm sorry Damon, did I wake you?"

"Yeah, sure, you woke us up. We'll leave it at that."

"Hi Bonnie!" Elena called out, giggling.

"I'm sorry guys, really I am," Bonnie said, feeling a little embarrassed. "But this is important. Stefan is back in Mystic Falls, looking for you."

"What have you told him?" asked Damon.

"I told him the two of you are together on your honeymoon and that I would meet him in the morning. I don't want to be the one facing him and have to explain everything. He's your brother Damon, I think you need to come back to Mystic Falls. However, he's not going to be satisfied until he talks to Elena."

"I can be in Mystic Falls tomorrow afternoon. I think we need to get Katherine to play Elena."

"No Damon, he doesn't deserve that," protested Elena. "He deserves the truth and he deserves to hear it from me."

"Maybe so," replied Damon. "But we have to be careful. Let's find out his intentions and then we'll decide from there."

"I'm afraid I agree with Damon, Elena. He sounded like someone on a mission. We need to know what his state of mind is before you are exposed."

"He's not a threat! We're talking about Stefan. He would never hurt me. I need to see him."

"You're too vulnerable right now," replied Damon.

Elena sighed in resignation. "I'll go along, but this is a mistake."

Damon nodded, "If it is, I'll take the blame. I'll give Katherine a call. Bonnie, when you see Stefan, simply tell him that we'll be in Mystic Falls that evening and we'll meet him then."

After Damon hung up with Bonnie, he glanced at his watch. "It's almost 1. I'll send a text message to Katherine and have her call me."

"Damon, once you satisfy yourself that Stefan isn't any kind of threat, I want to see him, face to face. I'm coming to Mystic Falls with you. I'll wait at the old church and you can bring Stefan out to meet me there."

Damon was about to object until he noticed the determined set of Elena's face and realized that unless he tied her up, he wasn't going to stop her. Even if he tried to do that, she would simply compel him to let her go. He sighed, "Being married too you is never going to be easy, is it?"


	19. Reconciliation

**Reconciliation**

Damon and Elena were able to get an early flight out of Boston. On the flight, they came to the conclusion that since Elena was coming, there was no reason to involve Katherine. Once they touched down, Damon sent her a text telling her that they would not be coming by. Immediately Katherine called him back. "You remember what I said about explanations, right?" was Katherine's greeting when he answered the phone. "I want to know what this is about."

"It's really simple, Katherine, we wanted you to help find out what Stefan wants, that's all. But as it turns out, Elena came instead so we don't need your help." replied Damon.

"That's not good enough."

"It will have to be."

"Damon, this is pointless, you might as well tell her, let me have the phone." interrupted Elena. "Katherine, before Damon and I married, we took a vow. As a result, I've been made temporarily human. In fact, I'm pregnant. It's a deal we made so that we could have a family. So you see, you and I are both equally vulnerable, it's just that there's more at risk for me at this time."

Damon admired the way Elena was able to tell part of the truth without giving a hint that there was more to it. Stunned, Katherine asked, "How is such a thing possible? How did you know to even try? Do you have any idea what other female vampires would do if they thought they could have a family?"

"That's why we're keeping this a secret, in fact, keeping it a secret is one of the conditions. Specifically, the conditions that go with the spell."

"Good God, are you going to tell Stefan? There's no telling how he's going to react to this."

"What we tell Stefan depends on what he's thinking right now. I don't think we are going to tell him I'm pregnant," Elena said. "In fact, Katherine, nobody else needs to know."

"Okay," replied Katherine. "So I gather Caroline doesn't know."

"That's right, and I want to be the one to tell her, not you. Depending on how things go here, we might come by the college to see her. I'll give her a call later."

As Damon and Elena walked into the Grill, they saw that Bonnie and Jeremy were already seated and Matt was working. As soon as he saw them enter, Matt dropped everything and cried out "Elena! It's great to see you!" He went over to her and gave her a big hug.

Elena hugged him back and then separated herself, reached up and caressed his cheek and replied, "Its real good to see you too, Mattie. How've you been?"

"Good, Elena. Umm, Rebekah and I have been seeing each other a lot."

Elena tensed up at the news, "Really, is she in town?"

"No, she's with her brother in New Orleans." At this Elena was reassured. She didn't want to deal with Rebekah and Stefan.

Damon interrupted at this point, "Hi Matt." Matt nodded his response. "We're going over to sit with Bonnie and Jeremy. Stefan is in town and should be here any time."

"Yeah, I've seen him already. He seems to be on edge. What's going on, Damon?"

"You know, normal stuff, Matt."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of. You're idea of normal stuff."

Damon gave him a grin and patted his arm. "How about a bourbon and water, while we're waiting? Okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

Annoyed at the coldness between them, Elena whispered in Damon's ear, "What's it going to take for you two to work things out?"

Damon shrugged and smiled, "I guess I have that effect on some people. I can't imagine why."

When they approached Jeremy and Bonnie's table, Elena bent down and gave Jeremy a hug, "Jerr, it's so good to see you!"

"Hi, Sis. We're glad you're here."

Bonnie simply got up and gave Elena a warm embrace.

Bonnie and Jeremy both simply nodded their acknowledgement of Damon as he sat down. Damon understood that although they had accepted that he and Elena were together, it didn't mean that they had to like him.

There was a moment of awkward silence at the table after Damon and Elena sat down. Finally, the moment was broken when Bonnie noticed Stefan walk into the Grill.

Damon noticed Bonnie's attention had been diverted and rose to greet Stefan. He reached out to shake Stefan's hand, "Stef, how've you been?"

Stefan returned Damon's hand shake, but his attention was solely on Elena. Elena went up to him and gave him a hug. "Stefan, I'm so glad to see you."

Stefan hugged her tightly at first, but something alerted him that things weren't right. He pushed Elena away and stared at her for a few moments. Then his features twisted in anger and he turned to Damon. "You think I'm stupid? What have you done with Elena?"

Shocked, Elena replied, "Stefan, what's wrong? What's the matter with you?"

"I know that you're Katherine, so you can stop the pretense. It's not going to work."

"Calm down, Stefan," Damon instructed him. "You don't know what you're talking about. This is Elena. Bonnie, you tell him."

"He's right Stefan. Why would you think it's not?"

"I know for a fact that you've done something with her, Damon, and I'm here to find out what."

Damon looked helplessly at Elena, "He's off his rocker." This was too much for Stefan and he threw a punch at Damon. Damon noticed it in time and was able to block the punch and then grabbed Stefan and threw him to the floor.

"Stop it! Stop it, the both of you," cried Bonnie and she used her magic to subdue them both.

Both Damon and Stefan sank to the floor holding their heads in pain. Once Bonnie was satisfied that the fight was over she relieved them both of the spell.

"What did I do?" asked Damon petulantly. "He's the one who lost his mind."

Bonnie just shrugged, "I don't care whose fault it was, I just wanted you both to stop."

Elena pleaded with Stefan, "Stefan, it is me, Elena. What do I have to do to convince you?"

"Where's your day ring?"

"Oh, I don't have it with me. This is my day ring now," replied Elena holding up her left hand, understanding now why Stefan was so certain that there was something wrong.

"Nice try, Damon," sneered Stefan. "Either here and now, or later, we are going to have it out and you are going to tell me what has happened to Elena."

"It looks like we're going to need Katherine after all," sighed Damon. "Look, Stefan, if we produce Katherine and Elena together, side by side, will that satisfy you?"

"You produce both doppelgangers together at the same time, then we'll talk," Stefan grudgingly conceded.

"We'll have to drive to Whitmore College to find Katherine. Bonnie do you want to come?"

As Bonnie nodded, Jeremy spoke up, "I'm coming too."

"Sure, why not? The more the merrier. You want to invite the quarterback as well?" replied Damon sarcastically.

"What about the quarterback?" asked Matt, who had come over to investigate what was going on.

Elena smiled, in spite of her frustration with Stefan, "We're going to Whitmore to see Caroline, do you want to come?"

Matt grimaced, "I can't, I have to work. Tell her hi for me."

"Ah shucks, that's too bad," drawled Damon. "I'll drive. The five of us can fit in the car. Elena you're riding in the front with me. Jeremy, Bonnie and Stefan can squish in the back seat."

"You and Stefan are the largest, why don't you two ride up front and Jeremy, Elena and I can squish in the back seat," retorted Bonnie.

"What are we a bunch of kids? Let's just go," said Damon resignedly.

The ride to Whitmore was mostly silent. All were lost in their own thoughts. Damon was wondering if he and Stefan would ever be able to reconcile with things as they were with Elena. Stefan was confused, wondering about the length Damon would go to carry out this bluff with Katherine and questioning his own certainty that something had to have happened to Elena. Jeremy was still coming to terms with his sister's marriage and pregnancy. Bonnie was feeling the responsibility of looking after Elena and Damon. Of the five of them, Elena was the most at peace. After all, she knew who she was, and after the initial shock, was becoming increasingly excited about being pregnant.

When they arrived at Whitmore, they saw Katherine waiting for them. Elena had called to tell her they were coming. Damon was the first out of the car and when Katherine saw him she rushed up to him, gave him a hug and a kiss and cried out, "Damon, sweetheart. It's so good to see you. Hi Jeremy, Bonnie. Stefan! When did you arrive in town? Oh, hi Katherine. What are you doing here?"

Damon pushed Katherine away, "What the hell! What do you think you're doing?"

Katherine pouted, "Damon, what's the matter? Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Katherine, stop fooling around," protested Elena.

Katherine looked hurt as she said "I … I don't understand. Why are you acting this way? Damon, we haven't seen each other for several weeks? Aren't you glad to see me?"

"I need a drink," groaned Damon. "Elena, I'm going to leave you to sort this mess out. Stefan, you have both doppelgangers together at the same time. So, whoever is Elena and whoever is Katherine, they are both in good shape. There's a bar across the street, you can find me there."

"Damon, don't leave me with this," called out Elena. Damon merely waved as he continued to walk away. This time, much louder, Elena yelled, "Damon, don't you dare leave me with this, you son of a bitch!"

That got Damon's attention. It took a lot to make Elena angry, but when she was, the consequences tended to be severe. Jeremy and Bonnie both had to conceal a smile. They both knew Elena well and for the first time both were comfortable that she would easily be able to handle Damon.

Damon turned back resignedly grabbed Katherine's arm and Elena's left hand. "Look Stefan, Katherine's bracelet and Elena's wedding ring. Neither one is going to willingly part with it. So if you have any sense, you'll know who is who. Yes, Elena and I are married. We tried to call, but you wouldn't answer. If this isn't good enough for you, then, well, then fuck you."

Elena went to Stefan and took his hand. "I'm sorry Stefan, you deserved better. Why were you so certain that something had happened to me?"

"There's a witch in San Francisco that I was using to check on you to see how you were doing. Everything seemed to be going well when all of a sudden she said that you didn't exist. I had to come see what had happened. I feared the worst," explained Stefan.

"Translation, you hoped for the worst," growled Damon.

Elena gave a warning look at Damon, "You're not helping. Bonnie, do you have any idea what had happened?"

Guardedly Bonnie nodded. "It's because of the changes that have taken place, Elena. You understand. You're different now."

Suddenly Elena understood. She then lied easily to Stefan, "I took the cure after all, Stefan. I'm not a vampire now, I'm human. That's why the witch couldn't find me. The person she was looking for doesn't exist, at least not for the time being."

Stunned, Stefan asked, "You've become human? Yet, you're still with Damon?"

Elena sighed and turned to her friends. "Guys, Stefan and I need to talk alone, okay? Damon, try very hard not to listen in."

Damon lifted his hands in protest, "Hey, I was going to have drink earlier, but you stopped me."

Elena nodded, "Go have a drink, Damon. We'll be joining you soon. Stefan and I have a few things to clear up. Let's take a walk, Stefan."

They walked in silence for a short distance before Elena began. "When we first met, I was devastated with the loss of my parents. I was frightened, lost, and numb with grief. I desperately wanted someone whom I could trust to protect me, to provide emotional shelter. You filled that hole in my life and brought me back and I'll forever be grateful. That girl that wants to be protected and sheltered is still there and will always love you. But that is not all of who I am.

You have this view of me as being sweet, compassionate, and good. When I am not that person, you dismiss it as my being a vampire and that being a vampire is not really me. When I had turned off my emotions, Damon said I was a stone cold hearted bitch. Well that bitch is still part of who I am, Stefan. It's not some person out there waiting to occupy my body, she is part of me, and she's always there. Becoming a vampire, hasn't made me this person, it's just emphasized different parts of me. There are things about being a vampire that brings out different parts of who I am. There are things that I don't like about myself, and there are things that I do. All in all, I like being a vampire. I like my life."

"But you said you took the cure, that you're human now."

Elena nodded. "Yes I did, and I am human, now. But that is temporary, Stefan. I don't intend to stay this way."

"Then why? Why did you become human?"

"There are things about my life with Damon that I don't intend to explain, Stefan. You need to accept this is how things are."

"You would have been happy with me, Elena, if it wasn't for Damon. I'm good for you."

"Stefan, you're not even good for yourself, let alone for me. You are constantly fighting this battle within yourself to be this person you think you should be. I need someone that I can discover and wants to discover me. Damon and I were made for each other, Stefan. You have got to accept that. Damon loves all of me. He looks forward to each new me that comes out. He constantly surprises me. He can make me cry, laugh, and want to kill him in just a few moments. He is the most aggravating, compassionate, loving, selfish, considerate and inconsiderate man I have ever known. He makes me feel more alive than I ever thought possible. What is even more wonderful is that I do the same thing for him.

Stefan if we had both been human, and only had 60 years to be together, maybe we could have created a life together. But, by the time we were old, I know I would not have been happy. You would not have been enough for me. I would have grown to dislike you because of having to limit myself to being that one girl you fell in love with. However, we would never make it as vampires. With centuries stretching out in front of us, it wouldn't be long before I left you. I wouldn't be able to stand it.

Stefan if you are going to be part of my life, it has to be as my brother. No more, no less. If you can't do that, I don't want to see you again."

Elena left Stefan then and headed over to the bar where the Damon and the rest were waiting. When she sat down next to Damon, he pushed a drink over in front of her but didn't say a word. Elena was crying softly. She hated having to lay things out like that. She resented Stefan for making her have to.

It was at that point that Caroline came in. Seeing both Katherine and Elena together gave her pause, but she noticed the ring on Elena's hand and went to her and hugged her. "Elena, this is great! How long are you here?"

"Not for long, I'm afraid, I guess we will stay the night and catch a flight out tomorrow."

Damon nodded, "Our flight leaves at 9:20."

"How's school, Caroline?" Elena asked, glancing meaningfully at Katherine.

"Oh come on, Elena," protested Katherine. "Ask her straight out, 'Caroline, is your life in mortal danger sharing a room with the evil Katherine?"

Caroline smiled, "It's working out well. I won't lie, I wish you and Bonnie was here, but Katherine is a good roommate."

"There you go," Katherine said. "Rest easy, Elena. Your little experiment is working out well. We're actually perfect roommates. Not so close that we start to get tired of each other, but with enough in common that we can relax and enjoy each other's company. We've been talking about buying a house, at least, I'll buy the house and she can rent a room. We're both getting pretty tired of dormitory rules. Oh, by the way, Bonnie, do you remember a fellow named Lance Corporal?"

Damon and Bonnie sat up alertly at the mention of Lance. "Yes, I remember him. Did you ever meet with him Damon?"

"No, I never got around to it. Things were kind of hectic at Mystic Falls at that time. Is he still working on that absurd idea for his thesis?"

Elena picked up on the tension that had just occurred and looked curiously at Bonnie and Damon. Now what was going on? "Who is this, Damon? When did you meet him?"

Katherine interrupted, "Apparently he met Bonnie last fall on Halloween. He wanted her to set up a meeting with Damon. Let me tell you Bonnie, Lance is hot, I mean H-O-T – Hot. Damon you'd be doing me a great favor if I can invite Lance here so he can meet you."

"What does he want with Damon?" Jeremy inquired.

"Well apparently," explained Katherine, "Lance can't work out whether Damon's 'ancestor' (Katherine used air quotes to emphasize ancestor) is a hero or a villain."

"He can join the club," muttered Jeremy. Bonnie kicked him under the table.

"He has some interesting documents," continued Katherine, "about Damon's conduct during the Civil War, and about our little Mystic Falls. Your ancestor, Emily Bennett, has come up as well, Bonnie."

Glancing at Damon, Elena interrupted, "Of course you can, Katherine, I know I'd love to meet this hot guy who is curious about Damon."

Stefan came into the bar at this time. He paused when he saw them all sitting together. Then he strolled purposely up to Damon. Damon watched him guardedly. Everyone paused, not moving, waiting to see what would happen. Stefan stretched his hand out to Damon, "Brother, I apologize. I've been blaming you, I've been blaming me, and I've been blaming Elena for something that was simply meant to be."

Damon brushed aside Stefan's offered hand and gave him a major hug.


	20. Lance

6/17/2015

 **Lance**

The atmosphere of the group relaxed considerably with Damon and Stefan's reconciliation. After a few rounds of booze, wine and beer, one could actually call it a party. Of course, Elena was staying sober due to her pregnancy but that didn't slow her or anyone else down with a lot of good natured teasing and bawdy reminiscing most of which were at Damon's expense. Caroline, especially, was taking advantage of the opportunity to get some back for the way Damon treated her when they first met. Damon accepted it all in good humor, knowing he deserved being the butt of most of the jokes and that this was an opportunity for him to gain acceptance with people who were important to Elena.

Stefan was beginning to tell an especially embarrassing story of one of Damon's past sexual exploits when, to Damon's relief, Lance Corporal arrived at the bar. Katherine, who had been looking for him, saw Lance first and cut off Stefan's story by announcing that he was here. Katherine went to Lance and hugged and kissed him and brought him to the group.

Before Katherine could begin introductions, Damon rose and extended his hand. "You must be Lance Corporal. I'm Damon Salvatore. This is my wife, Elena and my brother Steven."

Stefan gave Damon an inquiring look as he shook Lance's hand. Katherine smiled in amusement, understanding why Damon didn't want Lance to know that he had a brother named Stefan. Lance was no fool and would wonder that two brothers would have the same first name as the brothers back in 1864. She interjected, "Of course, it's obvious that Elena is my twin sister. She and Damon have been married for less than a month. This is our brother Jeremy, my roommate Caroline Forbes, and this is Bonnie Bennett."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for inviting me. I suppose you already know that I have a great deal of interest in your ancestors, specifically the Salvatore's, the Forbes, and the Bennett's."

"You've also got the Gil… OWW!" began Caroline, she was cut off by a quick kick in the shin by both Elena and Katherine.

Damon cut in smoothly, "The Gilberts and the Lockwood's are also of interest to you, I imagine."

Lance nodded. "Are their descendants also living in Mystic Falls?"

"At least the Lockwood's are," Damon explained. "Caroline is very close to Tyler Lockwood. There is only one Gilbert left, I'm afraid. That family has experienced a lot of tragedy."

"I can imagine," said Lance sympathetically. "Tragedy has been a significant part of Mystic Falls' history."

"Well Lance, I understand Mystic Falls and our families are part of your dissertation in pursuit of your PhD. When you get your doctorate, will they promote you to Lance Sergeant?" Damon joked.

As the group chuckled at Damon's pun, Lance gave him a bleak look, "Believe it or not, Damon, you are not the first to put that line out. If you come up with something original, I'll buy you a drink."

"Oh my God, Lance," exclaimed Elena. "You don't know what you've done. We're going to be plagued with bad corporal puns for the rest of the night. There's no end to the length Damon will go to win a free drink!"

Again, everyone had a good laugh at Damon's expense, including Damon. "Okay," laughed Lance, "I withdraw my challenge."

"Okay, Lance, Bonnie says that you've wanted to talk to me. I've meant to get back with you, but been kinda busy," said Damon.

Lance glanced at Elena and smiled. "I can imagine, but you're here now." Lance pulled out a copy of the letter he had given to Bonnie last year. "Bonnie has shown this to you, I imagine. I'm interested in anything you know about your ancestors, especially the original Damon and Stefan Salvatore."

Stefan started as his name was mentioned. Now he understood why Damon had introduced him as Steven. Damon looked sad as he replied to Lance's inquire, "I really don't know anything at all about them, Lance. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

Elena broke in, "What is that document, Lance? May I see it?"

"Certainly," Lance replied, as he handed it to her. Damon frowned as Elena picked it up to read. He should have headed this off when he first had the chance. Then he gave himself a mental shrug, he had been, after all, distracted. Lance spoke to Damon, "I can't believe you don't really know anything about him. After all, you're named after him."

Damon shook his head. "You need to understand, all the legitimate line of Salvatore's died around the time of the Battle of Willow Creek, including my fa… ancestor Giuseppe. The Salvatore name was passed down out of necessity to his bastard son Andrew. Andrew didn't have any interest in either of the brothers. I'm not really named after anyone. My mother had a difficult time when she was pregnant with me and took to calling me her little demon. When I was born, she was kind enough not to name me Demon, so she found in the family archives a close proximity, Damon. There's really not anything more to it than that. I'm called Damon sort of as a pun."

As Damon was speaking he was watching Elena read Tobin William's letter and saw her face flush with anger. He sagged in his seat, knowing that both he and Bonnie were going to catch hell for not having told Elena about this earlier. He glanced at Bonnie and saw that she was trying to look anywhere but at Elena. She had a decidedly guilty look on her face. The rest of the group was exchanging puzzled looks trying to understand the unspoken tension that was going around.

Lance turned to Bonnie, "Your ancestor, Emily Bennett and Damon Salvatore had a good deal to do with each other as well."

Startled, Bonnie replied, "In what way?"

"With Katherine's help, I realized that the battle for Willow Creek did not have any racial causality. Apparently, the townspeople were collectively overcome with a paranoid terror of a supernatural invasion, similar to the Salem witch trials. Your ancestor Emily Bennett was caught up in that and hung as a witch. Even though Damon Salvatore had been recorded as having been killed in action during the battle, he was mentioned later by William Forbes in his memoirs as having rescued her, her being recaptured and then Salvatore attempting rescue the second time but failing. His reward for his failure was to be buried alive under the tree where she was hung. Apparently, Captain Salvatore had a fondness for lost causes."

By this time, Elena had finished reading the letter and waved it at Bonnie, "You knew about this last fall, and you didn't see fit to tell me? Why?"

His curiosity aroused, Stefan took the letter from Elena's hand and began reading it. Uncomfortably, Bonnie said, "Damon and I thought it best."

Hearing Damon's name Elena turned on him, wagging her finger in his face, "Don't think you're out of the woods on this, Damon." Then she turned back on Bonnie, "You do a lot of deciding about what's best for other people, don't you Bonnie?"

Miserably, Bonnie confessed, "I thought it best at the time. You seemed confused about Damon and I thought knowing about this would confuse you more."

"What you really mean," replied Elena sarcastically, "is that knowing about this would clear things up for me in a direction you didn't want me to go."

Caroline couldn't stand it any longer, "What are you talking about!" she exploded.

Everyone looked at Damon to explain. "Why are you looking at me? Let the historian explain it, he's done all the research."

Baffled by the emotions swirling around the group, Lance tentatively explained, "When Damon Salvatore was serving the Confederacy he risked his life to save 14 Negro soldiers from being unjustly executed."

Stefan had finished reading the letter by this time and accused Damon, "You let me believe you were a coward in the war. What's the matter with you?" Stefan had completely forgotten that Lance was present.

"I'll tell you," snapped Elena, who had also forgotten about Lance. "The matter with Damon is that he can be incredibly brave, incredibly compassionate and an incredible coward all at the same time. What was it you said that night, Damon? You didn't want to have to live up to other people's expectations. Well Damon, you need to face up to who you are. You're noble, and brave, and good and you need to let the people who love you know it, so they know you can be counted on!" At the conclusion of her speech, Elena left them all there. When Damon rose to follow her she stopped him. "Leave me alone, Damon. I need some time alone."

Lance looked around, confused. "I really do not understand what is happening."

Katherine, who had been sitting back and enjoying the fireworks, took his hand. "Come with me Lance, I'll explain, but I don't think you're going to believe me." Katherine led Lance out of the bar, cheerfully waving good bye to the others.

Damon left immediately after muttering something vague about needing some air to clear his head.

"I don't understand him, I've never understood him. After 165 years, I still don't understand him," moaned Stefan, bemused.

Bonnie, for the first time was beginning to understand Emily Bennett's loyalty to Damon, replied, "I don't think any of us has ever understood Damon, except Elena."

4


	21. Transition

Transition

Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie, and Stefan were left at the bar wondering what to do now. Finally, Stefan spoke to Bonnie, "I'll go talk to Stefan. You should probably speak with Elena." To Caroline and Jeremy, Stefan said, "Hang tight, here. I don't think we'll be long. We need to get back soon anyway."

Bonnie and Stefan left the bar together. When they were outside, Bonnie saw Elena sitting at a fountain in front of the library. Stefan saw Damon leaning against a tree nearby. Grabbing a glass of whiskey for Damon and himself, he strolled over to Damon, as Bonnie went to Elena.

Stefan handed Damon his drink and said, "Even when you do something great, you screw up. How do you manage it?"

Damon acknowledged the statement with a grimace and lifted his drink up in a toast. "Here's to screwing up," and took a long pull of whiskey. "She called me noble, brave, and good. Can you believe that? Maybe I'm making progress."

"She also called you a coward, so don't get cocky."

Damon shrugged and took another drink. "I said I was making progress, that's all."

Stefan lifted his glass for another toast, "Well then, here's to progress."

"What are you going to do now, Stef?"

"I'm flying back to California tomorrow. I've got a nice place there, I think I'll start a bar."

Damon nodded, "Bar's a good idea. Steady stream of people, plenty of opportunities to feed."

"I can't do that Damon. I can't live that way, constantly fighting the urge. It works for you, it doesn't work for me. Besides, I've discovered big game hunting, you know, animals that can fight back, bears, lions, wolves. The blood tastes a lot better, it has more energy, besides it's more of a challenge than hunting humans even. You should give it a try."

Damon considered the idea, "Interesting, Elena and I will come out to see you in a little while. You can introduce us."

"Promise?"

Damon grinned, "Absolutely!" They shook hands and rose to leave.

"You and Elena going to be okay?" Stefan asked.

Damon watched Elena and Bonnie together and nodded, then sighed. "Yeah, we'll be fine. She's a complicated woman, did you know that?"

Stefan shook his head, "I always found her straightforward."

Damon grimaced, "I guess it's me then."

When the four approached each other, Elena reached up and kissed Damon and gave him a hug. "I'm ready to go home, Damon."

"Sure, let's round up Jeremy and go."

Jeremy and Caroline were still sitting at the bar when they re-entered. Elena spoke up, "We're ready to go Jeremy." She gave Caroline a hug. "It's been really good to see you Care. I'm glad it's working out with Katherine. It looks like she's interested in Lance. Do you know what that's about?"

Caroline shrugged. "Katherine likes guys and they like her. It's hard to tell when she's serious."

"I wonder what she's going to tell him about tonight," observed Damon. "Let us know if you think that's going to be a problem, okay?"

"How will I do that?" asked Caroline. "I don't know how to get in touch with you."

"Bonnie," replied Elena. "You can get us through Bonnie."

Caroline sighed, "I wish you would tell me what's going on."

Elena glanced at Damon, and he nodded. "I'm pregnant, Care. We're kind of hiding out until the babies are born."

Caroline's eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open. The she let out a scream as she hugged Elena. "But how? Did you take the cure? I thought there was only one? But Damon, how could you …?"

Damon didn't answer, but just grinned. Elena replied, "It's all very complicated. No, I didn't take the cure. I am human, but only temporarily. I don't want to say anymore, Care, but I wanted you to know."

Caroline nodded, but then exclaimed, "Babies! You said babies. You're having more than one?"

Elena nodded and grinned. "Apparently, I'm having twins."

Caroline screamed and hugged Elena again. "But you can't hide out who knows where. We have to have a baby shower!"

Elena laughed, "When we come back, maybe. Right now, I want to go home, Care, I'm tired."

Later that night, after they made love, Elena cuddled against Damon and allowed her hand to travel over his body, exploring, touching, caressing. "I like learning about the good things you've done Damon. I'm proud to be your wife, you don't have anything to prove to me. But, I like to hear when you've done something brave, and good, and noble."

Damon sighed. "There's a lot more bad, than good, Elena."

She nodded. "I understand. I understand that you've lived a hard life. It's part of who you are. It's part of why I love you."

For the remainder of Elena's long life she would consider the next three months spent in Gloucester as the most special. The first few weeks there, the place was packed with tourists for the fall colors, but when the leaves dropped and the winter storms began they had the place to themselves. She had easily compelled the locals to cover for them but in the process found them open and friendly. She and Damon had everything they could want. A friendly pub nearby where they could have a drink with new-found friends, and plenty of time to be left alone to enjoy each other.

Since she was human, their sex had to be different, more restrained. Damon had to be more careful to avoid hurting her. Sometimes she became impatient with him because he was too restrained, but they soon figured that part out as well. The one thing she missed as a human was being able to taste his blood. Naturally, since her fangs were dormant she wasn't able to bite Damon, and Damon refused to drink from her because it took her too long to heal. She grinned to herself when she thought about when she returned to being a vampire because she figured they would make a bloody mess. She already had plans for when she returned to being a vampire. She'd keep it a secret until they were in bed together and then she'd bite hard and long, and take a nice long drink.

One thing she learned about Damon that amazed her was what an excellent cook he was. He taught her how to cook so that she knew her way around the kitchen well enough, but whenever they had company or wanted to make something special, she gladly turned the kitchen over to him, knowing he'd 'throw together' some culinary masterpiece. Whenever they discussed their future, she would bring up the idea of starting a restaurant. She was convinced it would be a success. Damon was less optimistic. He had never really tied himself down to a single location and found the idea foreign to him.

They had quickly established a routine. She would get up early and take long walks along the shore. Elena found the seashore called to her. It didn't matter what the weather was. There was something about the ocean that reflected her spirit. Calm and serene one day, violent and deadly the next. She was well aware of the blistering temper she kept within her heart. She knew that, when aroused, there was no limit to what she could do to vent her anger. She also knew of her capacity to love and forgive. The quick changes of mood of the sea called out to her and somehow helped her understand her own feelings. The sudden changes of the sea made her feel as though she wasn't alone.

Damon, on the other hand, tended to sleep in. She knew that some of that was on purpose as he knew she enjoyed the solitude of the early morning. He had developed the pattern of going into Boston twice a week to feed. He would come home late and she could smell the liquor and perfume from the women he would feed from. One time she commented on being the only wife okay with her husband coming home stinking of another woman's scent. His response was that it would look rather strange to be biting another man's neck in a nightclub. But, that was the last time she smelled another woman on him when he came home. She asked him if he showered before he arrived home and he smiled and said that he had found another solution. That was all she could get out of him about that.

 **An Old Friend**

January arrived cold, with a winter blizzard. Damon was stuck in Boston, the night before with all the roads closed. Because of the weather, he had not been able to feed, everyone was bundled up at home until the snow stopped. He had received word that evening that the roads north were open and he was hitting the bars to feed before he left for home. It was a cold night and Damon was leaving a bar having fed when a familiar voice called his name.

"Damon! Damon Salvatore! Damon, wait up!"

Damon's instincts at first was to ignore the person calling and hurry away, but then his memory placed a name and face to the voice and he laughed and turned around. "Meredith, my God, how the hell are you?"

Meredith Tappinger was a woman who looked to be in her early 30's with dark brunette hair that hung in stylish long curls and draped elegantly over her body, almost to her waist. She was dressed fashionably in slacks, a beige silk blouse, and wearing a leather jacket. Without heels she was almost as tall as Damon, with the spikes she was wearing, she was slightly taller. She laughed gaily as she gave Damon a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Damon Salvatore, you are looking absolutely yummy. How long have you been in Boston?"

"I'm not really, I'm living in Gloucester, I just come in to visit a couple of times a week to get something to eat."

"At a gay bar? I saw you just leave there. Since when does Damon Salvatore feed at a gay bar?" Meredith took a step back to examine Damon and try to figure out what was going on with her old friend.

Damon looked down sheepishly, "It's hard to explain, Meredith. Feeding from women doesn't seem right somehow. I had never thought about it before, but there's a sexual part of it."

For a moment, Meredith was puzzled, trying to figure out what Damon was trying to say. Then it hit her. "Katherine! You finally managed to get Katherine." Meredith gave Damon another hug. "I'll be honest, I never believed that would work out. I'm happy for you, Damon. Where is she? I want to meet this girl you waited 150 years to free."

"No, Meredith, I'm not with Katherine. I'm completely over her."

"Okay, Damon. What is going on with you?"

"Why does their have to be something going on?" asked Damon defensively.

"Oh Damon, there is always something going on. I'm sure my instincts are right. If it's not Katherine, it's another girl. Come on, spill it. Who is she?" Then Meredith spotted the wedding band on Damon's hand and became suddenly serious. "Wow, I never would have seen this coming. Are you legitimately married? You're not pulling some con are you? You've always been honest with the women in your life. Tell me you're not pulling some sleazy scam on a girl."

"Dammit Meredith, no I'm not doing anything like that! I am legitimately married. Her name's Elena."

"So where is she? I want to meet her."

"I told you, she's in Gloucester. I was just about to head home when we met."

Again Meredith was puzzled. "Okay, why are you here to feed, and she's waiting at home for you? Oh my god, she's human! You've married a human? Are you out of your mind? She knows you're a vampire right. Tell me you didn't marry a human and hide the fact you're a vampire from her."

"Meredith, why don't you just shout out to the world? Yes, she knows everything about me."

"So she is a human! When are you planning to turn her? You are going to turn her. You know relationships between vampires and humans don't end well."

Damon sighed in exasperation. Was there any way he could get in control of this conversation? "Look, Meredith, why don't you come home with me tonight and you can meet her. I'm not going to explain anything without her being there. Can you get free tomorrow? You can spend the night tonight and the three of us will have the day together tomorrow."

Meredith scowled at her phone as she checked her calendar and then smiled. "Yes, that will work out fine. I've just cancelled a couple of morning appointments and now, not only do I have tomorrow, but I have the entire weekend."

"Good," replied Damon. "Let me call Elena to give her a heads up." He called her on his phone and when she answered he said, "Hi Elena, listen I'm about to head home. I've run into an old friend, and I've invited her over for a few days. We'll be there in about an hour and a half."

"An old friend? How old a friend? How much does she know about us?"

"I knew her in the early nineties. She knows all about me, she doesn't know anything about you."

"What kind of friend is she?"

"She's just a friend, Elena." As he said that, he noticed a mischievous glint in Meredith's eyes and decided he had better come completely clean. "Okay, I guess you could say she was a friend with benefits."

"Of course," Elena replied dryly. "Do you have any other kind? Listen Damon, of course she can come over. I definitely want to meet this friend of yours, with benefits. I'll make sure the guest bedroom is made up, but I'm tired so don't expect me to be up when you get in."

After Elena hung up he said to Meredith, "It's all set."

"Great," she replied. "Let me have your address. I'll go home to change and pack and I'll see you there."

Damon arrived home about midnight and found Elena awake in bed, reading. "Where's your friend?" she asked.

Damon kissed Elena hello, "She'll be here in a while. She had to get some things."

"Well, you can show her where to settle in. I'm going to sleep."

"Uh, Elena, I think you're going to have to invite her in."

"Oh bother. Okay, so, tell me about her."

"Her name's Meredith Tappinger."

"She's pretty, of course."

Damon sighed, "Yes, she's pretty. She is also wicked smart. Smarter than me for sure."

"That's not saying much," Elena joked.

"Ouch. She was a therapist when I met her. I don't know if she still is."

"What exactly is she to you?"

"I guess you could say, she's been my Lexi."

"Really? I never thought of you needing a Lexi."

"I don't mean it that way. I'm just saying we have that kind of relationship, kind of like a brother/sister relationship."

"With benefits."

"That was a long time ago, Elena. It's kind of a case where we tried it on and mutually decided that we weren't suited for each other that way."

"So why did you say anything?"

"Because, knowing Meredith, I figured it's better to be candid."

Elena smiled, "Maybe you are pretty smart. I think I hear a car in the driveway."

In a few minutes, they heard Meredith knock and call at the front door. Elena went and opened the door and held out her hand to say hello. "I suppose, your Meredith, I'm Elena. It's good to meet you." After they shook hands, Elena turned and went back inside, leaving the door open and Meredith standing outside. Elena stopped and turned back smiling sweetly, "I am so sorry, Meredith. Please come in." Meredith entered, noticing Elena's pregnancy and glanced at Damon questioningly.

"I know we have a lot to talk about, Meredith," said Elena. "However, being pregnant tends to tire me quickly, so I'm sure you'll forgive me if we leave getting acquainted until the morning. Here is our guest bedroom. I'm sure you can find everything you need. Help yourself. Have a good night. Damon?"

"Night Meredith," Damon gave her a brief hug and went into the bedroom with Elena.

Meredith stood in the center of the living room without moving for several minutes trying to process the startling information she had received. She tried in vain to reconcile the Damon Salvatore she knew 20 years ago and the apparently domesticated version she saw tonight, married to an obviously pregnant, human, lovely young girl. She finally gave it up. Tomorrow would certainly be an interesting day.


	22. Meredith Tappinger

6/17/2015

 **Meredith Tappinger**

Meredith was a light sleeper in any case, but she wanted to be sure to wake up as soon as Elena got up. She wanted to have a private chat with her without Damon. So when she heard Elena in the kitchen making coffee, she was up and dressed with vampire quickness. Elena smiled at her as she joined her. "Good morning, I'm glad you're up. Us girls need to talk," remarked Elena

Meredith studied Elena carefully and decided she meant that in a friendly way. "Absolutely, we both want to compare notes about Damon."

Elena gave Meredith a warning look and pointed to her ears. "Are you up for a walk along the shore?"

"Love to."

Elena frowned at Meredith's clothes. "You look very nice, but it's cold and windy. Do you have anything warmer?"

Meredith hesitated and shook her head ruefully. "I'm afraid I buy my clothes with an eye on fashion more that comfort."

"That's not a problem, you can borrow some of my clothes. Damon has a good warm coat and gloves. You may not look like a runway model, but you won't freeze."

They enjoyed their coffee in quiet, and after Meredith was dressed appropriately they left for their walk.

It was definitely a cold day. When the wind whipped into their faces, it brought tears to their eyes. But in spite of the discomfort, Meredith found the pounding of the surf against the rocks along the shore compelling. There were moments when she had to stop and watch the movement of the waves as if she were hypnotized.

"I know, it grabs you doesn't it?" observed Elena. "Sometimes when my own feelings are in turmoil, the more violent the ocean the quieter I become. It's like the sea draws my emotions out of me and quiets me."

Meredith nodded her agreement and took Elena's hand as they resumed walking together. She was burning with questions but knew she needed to let Elena go first. Finally, Elena broke the silence. "Damon said you're just friends, is that how you feel about him?"

Meredith smiled. She liked this girl, straight to the point. "I was human when we first met. We almost immediately became lovers. He never had to compel me, I was okay with anything he wanted. Damon was the one who turned me, but he had his humanity off and wasn't capable of feeling for me the way I wanted him to. I quickly realized it was hopeless and adjusted my expectations. It was hard at first, but I valued his friendship too much to not make the effort. When I realized that we wouldn't be anything more than friends, we stopped sleeping together. So describing us as friends with benefits wasn't really accurate. We were, that is, I was his lover who became his best friend."

"Thank you for telling me. You said his humanity was off in the nineties? He told me his humanity was off in the seventies as well. How many times has he turned it off, I wonder?"

"You need to understand, Elena, when Damon turns it off he's not much different. He's fought in three very bloody wars. Turning it off is what soldiers do. I believe he turned off his humanity during World War II and hadn't turned it back on when I knew him. I don't know when he finally turned it back on, he obviously has it on now."

"So you're saying I should be asking what caused him to finally turn it back on."

Meredith nodded and smiled, "I think I can guess." Then to change the subject, Meredith asked, "So, what's Damon up to in Boston?"

The question surprised Elena, "I thought you knew. He goes to Boston twice a week to feed. Gloucester is too small a town, there's too much risk to feeding here."

"Elena, you should know Damon better than that. I love Damon, but he requires supervision. There's no way he's been making trips to Boston just to feed. Damon's like a child, they're getting into the most trouble when they're quiet. You need to find out what he's been doing."

"I trust Damon with my life, Meredith. I'm not going to check up on him."

"You should trust him, Elena, I know I do. But don't be stupid about it. If Damon tells you that all he's doing is feeding the pigeons then you should believe him. He won't lie to you. But you're foolish if you don't make sure he always tells you what he is up to. Look, I love Damon like a brother. I'll love him any way he'll let me. I'm not going to lie to you, if I could trade places with you, I would. But I'm not blind to what he is. He's reckless, impulsive, great with coming up with ambitious schemes and lousy at considering all the consequences. Together, you two will make a great team, I'm sure of it. But if you don't keep Damon chained to your hip, he'll lead you into disaster. Find out what he has been up to."

"How do I do that?"

"Ask him. He won't lie. He'll evade, he'll prevaricate, but he won't lie. You have to keep at him until he's forced to give a straight answer. Don't accept anything else and you'll hear the truth. Look, I'm not telling you this for your sake. I'm telling you this for his. He needs someone like you in his life."

"Or someone like you."

Meredith studied Elena for a few minutes and then asked on impulse, "How old are you Elena?"

Defensively, she replied, "Nineteen."

"My God, you're just a child yourself! What do your parents think of all this?"

"I'm an orphan, my parents died in an accident a few years ago. I just have a younger brother."

"I'm so sorry," replied Meredith. She thought she was beginning to understand the situation better. The poor waif. "What about your baby's father. Are you hiding from him?"

"Damon is the father," replied Elena, caressing her belly as she answered, smiling.

"What? You believe Damon is the father of your child? How is that possible?"

"Magic," Elena replied.

Meredith compressed her lips in anger. What was Damon thinking? That he would compel this lovely girl to believe he was the father of her child? Was he so besotted with her that he would use his vampire powers to compel her to marry him? She was going to get to the bottom of this. Friend or not, there were some things she would not tolerate.

"You're rather amazing Meredith."

Meredith laughed, "Oh, why do you say that?"

"I know that you love Damon as much as I do, yet I can tell you and I are going to be friends. I don't know if I could be that generous."

"I don't know, Elena, I just want Damon to be happy that's all. What about you? I'm impressed you don't seem threatened by me at all."

Elena gave Meredith a confident smile. "I'm very confident of Damon, Meredith. I know I don't have anything to worry about with him."

Meredith gave Elena a sideways look. "It wasn't an accident that I ran into Damon in Boston, you know."

"Really? How did you find him? We tried very hard to not be found."

"I have some personal items of his, a lock of hair, a photograph, a necklace he purchased for me. With the combination of these personal affects, a witch I knew was able to locate him."

Elena nodded, relieved that they hadn't made a mistake somehow. "How did you and Damon meet?"

"I was treating a patient who was obsessed with a vampire. Her family thought she was losing her mind. But her story was too consistent, with too much detail. I decided to investigate. Naturally the vampire she was obsessed with was Damon. I persuaded her to introduce us."

"How did that affect you're patient, when you and Damon became lovers?"

"Her obsession was more hero worship than sexual. So she was actually happy that Damon and I had a relationship. She had been attacked by a group of men when Damon came upon her. He saved her in his typically brutal fashion from being raped and probably murdered. She was scared to death, certain that she was going to die next, when Damon suddenly turned gentle and helped her. She worshipped him, which Damon found both amusing and annoying. He couldn't manage to treat her in a consistent manner to help her gain perspective. He would push her away, then be nice to her, then push her away again. When I got to know Damon, I persuaded him to deal with her in a way that allowed her to move on."

"I think I know how she felt," Elena replied dryly.

Meredith glanced at her in sympathy. "I'm sure you do."

"What led you to track Damon down now?"

"We've talked together every few months, just to say we're okay. For the past few years, Damon had been a little elusive about what he was up to. He told me that he was with Stefan, but he wouldn't tell me anything else. Any time I'd push for information, he would tell me to drop it. Then, when I didn't hear from him for several months I had to find out what was going on. Elena, please don't tell him that I came looking for him. When we parted, he told me that it would best if we didn't see each other for a while."

Something about the way Meredith spoke about what Damon wanted sounded familiar to Elena. Suddenly, the coin dropped, "She's sire bond to him," she muttered to herself.

"Sire bond? What's that?" asked Meredith. Elena had forgotten about a vampire's hearing.

"It's kind of a rare vampire thing, except, apparently not so rare with Damon," Elena replied dryly.

"So, what is it?"

"When a vampire sires someone with whom they have an emotional connection, then the new vampire tends to be programmed to obey her sire. Tell me Meredith, who decided that you two should stop sleeping together?"

Meredith thought for a second. "I was trying to talk about the future with him. He told me that he didn't feel that way for me and that the best thing was that we stop. He was right of course. If we hadn't made a break when we did, I'd have been miserable. I knew he was right when he told me."

"Who decided that you should not see each other anymore?"

"It was Damon. He said that he had business in Mystic Falls and that I wouldn't like it there. I wanted to come but he said no."

"And you just accepted that?"

"Of course, what else could I do but what he … Son of a Bitch! That son of a bitch! Has he been playing me all this time?"

"No, I don't believe that at all. I'm pretty sure that he wasn't even aware that there was such a thing as a sire bond until recently."

"So I'm really Damon's puppet? Can this bond be broken?"

"You're the therapist, Meredith. Do you feel like a puppet? I don't see a puppet. I don't think the sire bond works that literally, well maybe sometimes, but not in your case. It didn't in mine. The effect is much more subtle, it sort of amplifies a bias that you already have because of your feelings for him. You didn't sound much like a puppet when you were warning me about Damon before."

"So what I feel for Damon isn't real?"

"The sire bond doesn't affect how you feel, it's because of how you feel."

"Can it be broken?"

Elena nodded, "You're feelings for Damon have to change. My bond was broken when I turned off my humanity."

"You're bond! What are you talking about, Elena? I thought this was just with vampires."

"I am a vampire."

"But you're pregnant."

"Yes, I am," replied Elena with a smile. "It's all very complicated. Damon and I will explain when we get back."

Meredith concluded that compulsion was more accurate than some bizarre sire bond. Damon definitely had Elena under compulsion to believe the things she did. Meredith was definitely going to have words with Damon.

"Elena, I'm starting to get rather cold, do you mind if we turn back?"

"That's fine," Elena replied.

They walked the remainder of the way in silence. When they arrived at the house, the smell of onions, and sausage cooking greeted them. "Hi," called Damon, "I imagine you're hungry. I'm making you an omelet. Meredith, I hope you still have your taste for good cooking."

"If it's your cooking, absolutely. Uh, Damon are you at a point where I can talk to you for a moment, outside?"

With a puzzled exchange of looks between Elena and him, Damon shrugged. "Sure, keep an eye on things here, will you hon?" He kissed Elena as he walked out the door with Meredith behind him.

As soon as they were outside, Meredith grabbed Damon and threw him against the wall. She had her hands around his neck crushing his air way and hissed, "What the hell are doing with that sweet girl, Damon? Compelling her to love you? Compelling her to believe you're the father of her child? I've never known you to be so sick!"

Damon couldn't respond because of Meredith's chokehold. He thrashed around trying to get leverage to force her off of him when a cold voice behind her commanded, "Meredith, let go of him, immediately."

Being compelled, Meredith had no choice but to comply. Astonished, she stood meekly by as Damon stepped away from her coughing and massaging his throat.

In the same commanding voice Elena said, "Meredith, believe me when I tell you, Damon is the father of my children. He has not compelled me in any way. You think you understand, but you don't know anything about this." Elena then released Meredith from compulsion and returned inside.

Meredith stood in amazement looking at Damon. "I've just been compelled! I've been compelled by a human! Who is she, Damon?"

Damon smiled weakly and croaked, "She's my wife, Meredith, and pretty amazing. Give me a few moments to get my voice back and I'll explain."

They sat down together as Damon finished the omelets. As he cooked, he and Elena explained to Meredith what had happened. They had decided much earlier that there was no reason for anyone to know about the 28 year cycle. Neither did anyone need to know about Elena's hunting, or about how it related to her phenomenal prowess in compelling. They would have preferred that no one know that Elena was exceptional in that ability at all, but in Meredith's case the cat was already out of the bag. Of even greater importance, no one needed to know about the restrictions Elena and Damon had agreed to in regarding whom they could hunt or kill. What they had agreed to explain was incredible enough. Meredith took it all in with amazement.

"How is all this possible?"

Damon shrugged, "I have a connection to Emily Bennett, an ancestor of Bonnie, the witch who was part of all this. Elena is Katherine's doppelganger, which seems to make her a focal point of supernatural events."

"Really? You're talking about your Katherine? The one you wanted to free from the tomb? Elena, you're her twin? Do you know where she is?"

They both nodded.

"How has that been working?"

"It's been an adventure," responded Damon dryly.

"Well, this is a lot to take in," sighed Meredith.

Damon finished the omelets and handed one to each of them. "Hey, Meredith, you still not like mushrooms?"

"No not really, never have, never will. They're disgusting."

"To bad, they taste great with the omelet. I have some on the side. Why don't you try a taste?"

To Elena's amusement, Meredith replied, "Okay, I'll try, but I won't like them." Meredith took just a few with her next bite. To her amazement, it tasted delicious. "Your right Damon they do go well with the omelet." Elena burst out laughing. Damon looked at her puzzled, Meredith looked at her with consternation as she comprehended what had just happened. Meredith leaned over to Elena and whispered "Please don't tell Damon, above all else, please don't tell him."

"Don't worry, I don't intend to. No way do I want Damon to know he has that kind of control." Elena whispered back.

"What are you two up to?" asked Damon.

"It's just some girl talk, Damon, doesn't concern you," she replied casually, "Oh by the way, what have you been up to in Boston all this time?"

Without any hesitation Damon replied, "I've been feeding, you know that."

"Yes, of course, but what else have you been doing?"

"Why do you think I've been doing something else?"

"Oh, I don't know, it just seems like you've had plenty of time to be doing something else, and I was just wondering what it was."

"Oh, okay. I guess I've been just killing time, that's all."

"Killing time, how?"

"Things, connecting with people, compelling them to be helpful if necessary. That sort of stuff, networking and all."

What had started as an experiment to test Meredith's warning had now turned into suspicion. She realized Damon was hiding something. She considered compelling it out of him but decided it would be better to get it out by normal persistence. Her tone changed this time when she asked, not compelling, but firm. "Damon, tell me what you've got going on in Boston."

"Why are you so sure that I have something going on?" he asked with one last effort of evasion.

"Because I'm not stupid!"

Damon sighed, "It doesn't matter really. I've just finished a project that I've been working on. It has worked out very nicely. You see, I've been thinking about our cash reserve. We're pretty comfortable right now, but if we should ever have to go on the run, especially with the kids, we could use a lot more. And then I got to thinking about Vicki and Jeremy and their issues with drugs early on. It doesn't seem right to let the organizations that make a fortune off kids like that just go about their business untouched. I understand there are law enforcement agencies and all, but as vampires, we can be much more effective."

At first, Elena was simply irritated that she had to push so hard just to get Damon to be candid with her. But as she began to get the drift of where he was going she began to become genuinely alarmed.

"So, I began to work my way up the line of the organizations that controlled the drug trade in Boston. Using compulsion it was easy to find the ones at each level and wipe out any trace that I had been there. It took me a few weeks, but I finally was able to get to the principle money men. The guys who handled the bank accounts, knew all the passwords, what all the transactions are. Then I set up a series of accounts, both in the US and abroad and compelled these guys to empty their accounts and move the money around so that it could never be traced back to us. I also set it up so that it looked as though the two rival groups had ripped each other off, so with luck they'll declare war on each other, totally disrupting the drug trade. So, we're a little over 28 million richer and their organizations are going to be in a shambles."

At the conclusion of his summary, Damon sat back proudly. Elena guessed that he was expecting praise for how clever he was, but instead she was livid. She couldn't believe that he would effectively declare a personal war on organized crime without even mentioning it to her. "Damon, how could you expose yourself, and your family like that? When were you going to tell me? When some murderer showed up at our door demanding his money?"

"Nobody is going to show up at our door, because nobody is going to know who actually took it. They are going to be so busy blaming each other, they'll never think to look for anyone else."

"How can you say that? You can't know that! You've condemned us to constantly looking over our shoulders wondering who might have pieced things together and come looking for us."

"Look Elena, it's done. You need to trust me on this. It was a good plan. Plans like this are what I'm good at."

Damon's smug confidence that nothing could go wrong, and his insensitive dismissal of Elena's concerns were more than she could take. Her mounting anger ignited into uncontrolled fury. She grabbed the nearest weapon at hand, a 12" knife Damon had been using to cut up the onions, and drove it into his abdomen to the hilt. Damon grunted in agony. For a moment his face contorted in anger and he tensed himself to counterattack. Then he realized who his attacker was and resignedly moaned "God, Elena that really hurts, what the hell?"

Still consumed with fury, Elena brought her face up to his and spoke, "News flash, Damon. Your plans suck! They blow up in your face, all the time. They always blow up. There are always consequences. This time the consequences won't be just for you, it will be for me, and your children. It's not just about you any more Damon."

Again Damon moaned. "I get your point, can you pull the knife already? Don't you think you're over reacting?"

Damon's submission and his accidental pun evaporated Elena's anger. She brought her mouth close to his ear and spoke softly, "Damon, I'm not over reacting," Elena gave the knife in his gut a small twist for emphasis. "I'm communicating." With a final twist of the knife, she pulled it out and tossed it on the countertop. Elena went to the sink to wash her hands while Damon sank to the floor moaning in pain.

Having watched the entire scene, Meredith drawled, "My goodness Elena, I thought Damon was violent. I wouldn't recommend your methods in couples therapy, but it's probably the best way with Damon."

"You put her up to this," accused Damon.

"I just warned her that you were up to something in Boston."

Elena went to the refrigerator to get a blood bag and handed it to him. "Here Damon, I imagine you need this."

As Damon drank from the blood bag, Elena called Bonnie on her phone. "Hi Bonnie, I just wanted to give you a heads up. There may be some nasty people coming to Mystic Falls looking for us. Don't put anyone at risk trying to cover for us, just let us know if they're looking." Elena listened for a minute. "You know, one of Damon's schemes. We don't know specifically that there is a problem, just that the possibility exists."

Damon protested, "Elena, I'm telling you, there's no way anyone can trace this back to me. I'm sure of it."

9


	23. How Sure Are You

6/17/2015

How Sure Are You?

Grzegorgz Kukla was reviewing his financial statements regarding his net worth when he heard the knock on his office door. He had to make some difficult decisions regarding how to liquidate some assets since all his cash had mysteriously disappeared. Fortunately, he had a couple of million in his personal emergency reserve to keep the organization operating. However, the money wouldn't last long, especially with a pending war with Rory Gallivan. "Come," he answered the knock. Maybe it would be good news, he needed some.

Cal Alberts entered the office, "We got Neubury."

Greg smiled, "Great, then you have my money!"

Cal shook his head, regretfully. "'I'm afraid not. He only had about a quarter mil in his accounts and not quite five thousand on him."

"Then where is my money?"

"We're trying to work that out."

"Squeeze it out of Neubury. You know what to do."

Cal hesitated before delivering the bad news. "Neubury's dead."

Greg stared at Cal coldly. For a moment, Cal felt like Greg's eyes were empty graves, waiting to draw him in. Desperately Cal explained, "He was waiting for us. As soon as we entered his hotel room, he put gun to his chin and blew his brains out. There was no way to stop it."

Greg paled in anger as he contemplated the reality that his 18 million dollars may be lost for good. Without any inflection in his voice he replied, "You've disappointed me Cal. It showed serious lack of foresight to allow Neubury to be prepared like that."

"Who would have thought he'd rip off all that money and then just blow his head off? I mean what was the point of it all? It doesn't make sense, Greg."

"Maybe Neubury didn't take the money," Greg mused. "It really isn't like him anyway, for him to take that kind of risk. Maybe he was framed, and someone else took it."

Cal shook his head. "We already looked into that. All of Neubury's passwords were used, his security questions were answered correctly, and all the traps for hackers were skirted. It was Neubury alright, or somebody who could read his mind."

"You know this, but you don't know where the money ended up?"

Cal nodded. "He transferred the money from all of your accounts into his own. Then it went into Gallivan's and we lost it then. Funny thing is, we had about 16 million come into several of your accounts and then transfer back out."

Greg looked up sharply at this news. It was the first he had heard of that. "So where did that money go?"

"It got transferred into more than 20 different banks and several accounts in each bank, all over the fucking world. Some of the banks we have connections with. The money that went in, went right back out to a number of other accounts. There is no way to track it. We'd attract too much attention."

As Greg realized how hopeless it was he summed up resignedly, "What you're telling me is that my money belongs to who knows how many banks and the only one who can find it, killed himself."

Fearfully, Cal nodded his head. "It looks that way, only …" Greg looked sharply at Cal as he failed to finish his sentence.

"What do you mean, only?"

"Neubury didn't really act like someone who had access to that kind of money. He went to his bank and pitched a fit when he found out he had only 250 thousand dollars. He went into a complete panic. It was ridiculous how easy he was to find. He was a pretty smart guy, right? How could someone go to all the length he went to, to steal your money, and not have any kind of plan for getting away? It doesn't make sense."

"You think he was a patsy."

Cal nodded. "It looks that way, probably for Gallivan."

"Speaking of Gallivan, what news do you have on him?"

"He's doing what we're doing. Circling the wagons, and getting ready for war. Word is out that he's about to liquidate some of his property to raise some cash. We're in for it from him, you can count on it. I'm surprised he hasn't made his move yet."

Greg pondered this information carefully. "You say he's doing what we're doing? Why are we doing what we're doing?'

Puzzled, Cal answered his question, "You know why, because we don't have the cash to go after him with everything we have. If we let Gallivan get away with this, we'll be a joke on the street."

Greg nodded. "If I had pulled off against Gallivan what you think he pulled off against me, I wouldn't hesitate. I'd strike when he was weakest. He'd be finished in less than two weeks. So why is he waiting? It can only be because he's been ripped off as well. There is another player, trying to get us to go to war, so he can move in to pick up the pieces. That is the only explanation that fits. Do you know who Gallivan's accountant is?" Cal shook his head. "Find out if anything has happened to him." Greg waved his hand in dismissal. "Leave now, you know what to do. I need to think."

After Cal left, Greg leaned back in his chair, and stared up at the ceiling. What he had told Cal was partially true; there definitely was a third party behind this. However, that didn't explain everything. How Neubury could be persuaded to betray him in such an obvious fashion was totally foreign to his character. It wasn't so much that he was loyal, he was afraid of his own shadow. Even if someone had enough leverage on him to force him, Neubury would have been quivering in his boots, there was no way he could pull it off. No, it absolutely didn't add up.

Greg knew he was in serious trouble. Unless he recovered the money fairly soon, word would get out that he was cash poor. Loyalties would weaken, enemies would grow bold. He would have to shrink his enterprises which would be a further sign of weakness. He would begin a downward spiral that he doubted he could recover from. That is assuming Gallivan wasn't a threat. If Gallivan collapsed, that would make things worse. He was not in a position to move on Gallivan himself and whoever did would be emboldened to come after him. No, he had to recover the money, no matter what.

Resolved, Greg picked up the phone and dialed a number he had memorized over ten years ago, but had called only twice since. The man he was calling had abilities that Greg didn't understand. He knew of some people who had crossed this man, people who were very tough, very dangerous, and very powerful and they have never been seen again. Getting him involved was definitely a desperation move. However, Greg reasoned, this was a desperate time.

After several rings, a woman answered the phone in Danish. Greg responded in English, "This is Grzegorgz Kukla. I need to speak to Pal immediately."

Upon hearing the American voice, the woman switched over easily to English. "I do apologize, Herr Nielsson is not answering calls at this time. If you will provide the correct spelling of your name and a number to reach you, he will reply at his earliest availability."

"Listen sweetheart, tell Pal to answer the phone. I guarantee it will be worth his while."

"Wait just a minute, I'll see if Herr Nielsson will speak to you." Greg drummed his fingers on his desk impatiently while he waited. He knew this was all part of a game Pal played to maintain his image of independence. After a few minutes, the woman returned to the phone, "Herr Nielsson will be here momentarily, thank you for waiting." Again Greg was put on hold. He sat there fuming, but he didn't have any choice except to wait.

Finally a masculine voice spoke on the phone, "Grzegorgz, it is such pleasure to speak with you. I apologize for your wait. You realize that if you were a more frequent caller, Anne-Marie would be more likely to recognize you and put you through immediately. I so much enjoy our working relationship. I really do wish you were a more frequent customer. I enjoy any excuse to visit the United States."

"That's great Pal, because you have an opportunity to visit now, ASAP. By the way, just call me Greg."

"Tsk Tsk, you should embrace your heritage Grzegorgz, but if you insist, Greg, what is it you want?"

"I have a job for you. How quickly can you get here?"

"How quickly can you send me $40,000?"

"Pal, you know that I am good for it. Just come over, we'll work out all the payment details when you get here."

Pal sighed dramatically. "I would love to Greg, really, and if you were a more frequent client, I might consider it. But it has been years since we last did business. I'm afraid, in your case, I will have to be a bit more rigid." Then Pal spoke in his normal cold tone, "Be grateful Greg, I'm rounding down. My normal fee is 300,000 Danish Krone, if you keep screwing around, I'll round up and demand $50,000. Do you want my help or not? If you do, send me the money. If I don't get it within the hour, it goes up 10 thousand." Without further ceremony Pal hung up the phone.

Greg stared at the phone incredulously, then broke out in a string of swearing such that he had not indulged himself in for years. Greg was of the opinion that delivering instructions and threats in a quiet polite monotone was more frightening and effective than blustering with profanity. Therefore, he exerted self-control over how he spoke. In times like this, however, it was more than he could manage. Every time he dealt with Pal, he had this effect on him and Pal knew it.

Finally, Greg reclaimed his self-control and called Pal again. When Anne-Marie answered, Greg politely said, "Hi, can you supply the routing instructions so that I can wire the down payment Pal has asked for?"

"Certainly sir. Do you have a pen and paper handy?"

It only took a few minutes to complete the necessary transactions. It was 5 minutes later that Greg's phone rang. When he answered, Pal was on the other end. "I do enjoy doing business with you Greg, you're so prompt. Of course, you understand, the payment will not be refunded under any circumstances. All it does is pay me to come there and hear what you want. I am under no other obligation."

"Yes, yes, I understand. When can you arrive?" replied Greg impatiently.

"My pilot has already filed his flight plan. It will take 7 ½ hours to arrive at Logan Airport. It is 10:30 in the morning for you now, I should be at your office by seven. I am sure you will be a good host and have dinner with me when I arrive."

"Sure, sure, we'll have something here at the office."

"Make sure it is something palatable. Don't pawn off some of your miserable American fast food."

"Just get here, Pal."

Pal laughed, "Of course, Greg. I am looking forward to it, really."

When they had disconnected, Greg went to his bar and fixed a double vodka tonic to steady his nerves. The burn he had in his stomach told him that his ulcer was beginning to act up. What a hell of a week. Finding out he was missing 18 million was just the beginning. Now he had to have dinner with that smiling SOB and play nice when he really wanted to smash his face into a bloody pulp.

Greg knew that it was all an act. Pal Nielsson was as cold as ice. He never acted out of anger, fear, or any other emotion. He was simply a computer and calculated life or death purely on how to maximize his own self-interest. Greg glanced at his watch. He better get busy. He knew that if he wasn't prepared and didn't have all applicable information available at his fingertips, Pal would simply fly back to Copenhagen and keep his $40,000.

Promptly at 7, Greg received the call that Pal Nielsson had arrived. His chef had two filet's cooked according to how Greg knew Pal liked it, rare, along with his best Beaujolais. Pal was shown immediately to his office. Even after a 7 ½ hour flight, Pal looked as fresh as though he had just woken from a night's rest. As he walked into Greg's office he surveyed the table setting with the wine, steaks, asparagus and baked potatoes with satisfaction. "The one thing at which you Americans excel is a good steak. It is very difficult to get your equal in Europe. Bon appetite, Greg, eh? We will discuss our business over coffee. Please tell me you are not going to serve me your horrible American coffee."

"I'm not operating a restaurant, Pal."

Pal gave Greg a cold look. "You realize, how content I am has a direct bearing on the size of my fees. Ensuring my comfort will be a good investment."

Sullenly Greg replied, "I'll make sure my staff prepares the coffee according to your instructions."

They dined in silence from that point forward. Pal made all the appropriate noises of appreciation. None of the food tasted good to Greg, so resentful he was of being treated as Pal's lackey. Finally Pal completed his meal and had his cup of coffee. He took a delicate sip, made a slight frown and then shrugged. "It is tolerable. What you know about steaks is more than cancelled by your abysmal knowledge of good coffee. In any case, to business, tell me how I can help you, Greg."

Pal listened carefully as Greg explained the situation. When he had finished Pal remarked, "It is a shame your accountant, Neubury could not be captured. Do you have any information regarding Gallivan's accountant?"

Greg nodded. "An informant told us he was captured a few hours ago. He died under torture. Apparently, he insisted he stole the money for me and that I had double crossed him."

"Therefore, Gallivan is seeking some form of retribution?"

Again, Greg nodded. "I've been told that Gallivan is planning a strike against some of my operations on the street."

"What are your plans?"

"A very limited response. I don't intend to waste resources just striking back blindly. I have to understand what's really happening before I get committed to a full scale war."

Pal nodded, pleased with the answer. "It is always a pleasure dealing with associates who use their intelligence. Your instincts are correct, there must be a third party. You are also correct to seek my assistance. I believe the party involved is not an ordinary criminal. I will take the job. For compensation I will expect a finder's fee of 30%."

"Also, whoever did this, I want them," replied Greg.

Pal shook his head. "I will not promise that. Depending on who it is, I may or may not turn him over to you. There are forces that I do not wish to needlessly antagonize. If they are involved, I will simply negotiate a settlement. If not, then by all means you will be given the opportunity to extract your pound of flesh."

It gave Greg pause to realize that there were individuals whom Pal Nielsson of all people was leery of antagonizing. The fact that he obviously thought that these individuals were probable suspects in stealing his money made his ulcer act up even more. "In that case, I want to supply some men to work with you. If you don't want to antagonize the bastard who did this, I'm not afraid to."

Amused, Pal studied Greg then shrugged. "They will just get in the way, but if you insist."

"You understand, the status quo won't be stable indefinitely. The sooner you resolve this, the better."

Pal shrugged, "That is your problem. If your house of cards collapses around you, then I will be free to operate for my own benefit. My reputation demands that I not double cross you. But, if you can't keep your house in order, well, that isn't my fault is it?"

"And you walk away with all of my money. That doesn't seem fair."

For the first time, ever for Greg, Pal laughed outright. Greg had always thought Pal was frightening when he gave that cold stare. Incredibly, his laughter was worse. For a moment, Greg thought he even saw fangs. For the first time, he realized that Pal may not even be human. Greg prayed that he would never have Pal laugh at him again. After Pal stopped laughing, he looked calmly at Greg, "My dear human, I have no interest in fairness."

6


	24. Following the Crumbs

Following the Crumbs

After Pal had concluded his meeting with Kukla and checked into his hotel, he relaxed in the Jacuzzi provided. Anne-Marie, as usual, had taken excellent care of his personal needs as there was a blood bag waiting for him in the hotel refrigerator. As he sipped from the bag, he considered his next steps. The chances that a supernatural was not behind stealing the money from Kukla and Gallivan were virtually zero. The job was too clean. There was no way a mortal could have pulled this off without leaving some physical trace to follow. As much as he despised Kukla, he didn't underestimate him. If there was a trail to follow, Kukla and his men would have found it.

Thinking about Kukla's henchmen, reminded Pal of the company "forced" on him. He smiled derisively. It reminded him of his mother long ago reminding him not to forget his lunch on the way to school. There was nothing like having his next meal follow along obediently. Pal chuckled as he recalled how one of them, what was his name, Marcus, yes that was it, Marcus was insistent they meet with him first thing in the morning for breakfast. He admired their eagerness to be there to feed him.

Pal forced his mind back to business. His first task tomorrow would be to contact Slater. Although he couldn't rule a witch or warlock completely out, he was confident that a vampire was behind this, although vampires rarely involved themselves to this degree with human affairs. If they did pull off a job, they tended to be a smash and grab affair. They didn't normally care whether a human knew about them or not. The human would typically be dead, or the vampire long gone. The care taken by this perpetrator to cover his trail intrigued Pal. Anomalies like this didn't appear out of the blue. There was a history. He needed find out what unusual events had occurred within the past few years in the vampire community and nobody was better at keeping up with vampires than Slater. That would be Pal's first place to look.

Depending on what Slater told him, would determine his next step. If nothing showed up with vampires, he would have to look at the possibility of witchcraft more closely. However, everything pointed to this just being about the money. Witches never did anything for just one reason. There were always layers. No, it was a vampire, Pal was certain. There was the possibility of a vampire and a witch working together. That would be a formidable combination to contend with. Pal needed to be careful. He hoped Slater was on top of his game, because he needed quality intel to know how to proceed.

Pal woke up the next morning at 7. He dressed immediately and went down to the lobby. Sure enough, his four henchmen were waiting for him. He pointed at the heavier one and said, "I need your help in my room. Come with me, the rest of you, wait here."

Once they were in his room, Pal compelled him to stand still and drank his fill of the man's blood. When Pal was finished he asked, "How do you feel?"

"To tell you the truth," the man replied, "I'm feeling pretty weak. You took a lot out of me."

Pal nodded his understanding. "Here is my phone number. Take a nap, you'll recover in a few hours. Give me a call when you're ready." Then Pal took his phone and dialed Slater's number.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answered.

"This is Nielsson, put Slater on the phone."

"I'm sorry, Slater is not available, who can I tell him is calling."

"Who is this?"

"I'm Alice, Mr. Nielsson, Slater's assistant."

"Look Alice, if you like to continue breathing, get Slater on the phone, now."

After a moment's pause Alice answered, trembling, "I'm sorry, Mr. Nielsson. Slater really can't come to the phone. You see, he's dead."

Stunned Pal asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Alice," she repeated.

Impatiently Pal corrected her. "I know that, I'm not deaf. What I mean is who were you to Slater?"

"I'm, I was his girl friend."

"Okay, Alice. Are you at Slater's place?"

"Yes."

"Stay put. I'll be there in less than two hours. You understand Alice? I expect you to be there when I arrive. If you do as I say, things will work out well for you. If you don't, well, I don't need to spell it out, do I?"

"I'll be here," she promised.

Pal hung up on Alice, glanced at the man asleep on his couch, then went back to the lobby.

"Who has a car?" he asked them.

One of them raised his hand.

"What is it?"

"The car?"

"Of course, the car, idiot. What kind of car is it?"

"Mercedes E450," he replied.

"That will do, let's go. Your name is Marcos, right?"

Marcos nodded.

"Lead me to your car, Marcos. We need to get going."

"What about Don?" asked Marcos.

"Who?"

"Don, the one that went with you up to your room."

"Oh, he performed a service for me. He'll be along when he's ready."

"But …"

"No buts, let's go."

As Marcos got into the driver's seat, one of the other henchmen began to get in the back with Pal. "What do you think you're doing?" Pal stopped him.

"I'm getting into the car," he explained, puzzled.

"Not in the back seat. I'll sit alone, get in the front or stay behind."

Scowling the three men packed themselves into the front seat. "Drive me to the airport. We're going to Richmond. Nobody talk, I need to think."

This could be a real stroke of luck, Pal thought. Assuming Slater's death was fairly recent, this was just the sort of anomaly he was hoping to encounter. Pal did not believe there was such a thing as a coincidence. However Slater died, it would lead Pal to whoever he was looking for.

A quick call to his pilot and he had his flight plan set up to fly to Richmond. Pal considered his company. Did he really want all three of them tagging along? "I'm afraid my jet cannot take all four of us. One of you is going to have to stay behind, you can decide who stays."

"We were told to stick with you, no matter what," said Marcos.

Pal shrugged, "Not my problem."

"I'll need to call the boss."

Pal shrugged, "Sure you do that. After you talk to him, you can get a commercial flight to Richmond and we'll meet up later."

Pal sat back and relaxed while the three of them talked to Kukla and conferred. Finally, Marcos said, "Since it's my car, I'll park it and get an airline ticket. You two go with the asshole." Pal smiled to himself, he didn't care what they thought, but nevertheless, Marcos would pay for his disrespect.

A quick call to Anne-Marie while they were waiting for take-off and Pal had a rental car arranged for while he was in Richmond. Soon they were landing in Richmond with two Audis waiting for them. Pal took one set of keys and tossed the other set to one of the two others. "I'm driving myself, you two can follow."

"Why can't we all ride together?"

"Because I don't want to," Pal replied. He handed them a piece of paper, "Here is the address in case you lose me." Without any further exchange, Pal got in the car and drove off. He arrived at Slater's in just a few minutes, parked in the garage and went inside.

He found Alice at one of the computers engrossed with whatever she was looking up. She wasn't aware that he was there and he was able to see what she was doing. She was looking up information about him. "All you have to do is ask, Alice. I have no secrets."

His quiet voice immediately behind her frightened her. With a squeal she leaped out of her chair, lost her balance, and stumbled into his arms. He breathed in her scent to confirm what he had expected, she was human.

"What can you tell me about Slater's death?" he asked.

"I don't know much. I was coming up here to his apartment, the next thing I know, I woke up in his bedroom and he and three other vampires were dead. He had a stake driven through his heart and the others had their hearts ripped out."

"When did this happen?"

"Not quite two years ago."

"Are you aware of what Slater was?"

"Are you referring to him being a vampire?"

"Yes, then you know what I am."

Alice wet her lips in fear but nodded.

"You realize that you have been compelled to not remember what happened?"

Again Alice nodded.

"I need to know what happened. To do that, I am going to need to turn you. It's going to happen whether you want to or not. It will be easier for you if you don't fight it."

Alice's eyes widened eagerly. "That's what I've wanted. It's why I've been hanging out with Slater. I won't fight."

Pal regarded her curiously. He didn't believe she was intelligent enough to suit him long term, but for the time being she could be useful. He opened a vein in his wrist and held it to her mouth. Alice drank his blood eagerly. After a few moments, he pulled his wrist away, waited for a few moments and then snapped her neck.

He went to the computers to see what he could find. Pal frowned when he discovered that everything was passport protected. He had no doubt that Alice would cooperate, but he should have made sure before he turned her. He would have a small window of time during her transition to compel her if necessary. His two companions arrived shortly after. When they came up to the apartment, he pointed to one of them, "You wait in the car, the other stay with me."

They were getting used to Pal's autocratic nature and complied without argument. The one who stayed asked him "What do you want me to do?"

Pal answered, compelling him, "I want you to sit down, do nothing, say nothing, no matter what."

They waited an hour before Alice finally woke back up.

"Am I a vampire now?"

"Not yet," Pal replied. "You have to feed first. I have your first meal here," he said pointing to the man.

Alice lunged eagerly for him, but Pal intercepted her. "Not yet, Alice. You help me first, then supper. Tell me what happened to Slater."

Alice frowned as she tried to recall. Memories of being compelled were flooding her mind. She realized that Slater had compelled her often and had her performing all sorts of deviant sexual activities for him. Her anger at being used by him was rising, but Pal snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Focus Alice. I'm sure you have issues with how Slater treated you, that's the price of humans hanging out with vampires. But if you want to live, you need to tell me what I want to know.'

"What do you mean, if I want to live? I'm immortal now."

Pal shook his head. "Not yet, you have to feed. If I snap your neck now, you die. If you don't feed within the next day, you die. If I rip your head off after you feed, you die. If you help me, we can have a long and mutually beneficial relationship."

Alice nodded her head. After all, this is what she really wanted. "Like I said, almost two years ago I came up here and found Slater dead with a stake driven through his heart. I don't know who killed him. I know that he had been in touch with Elijah earlier, there had been a big discovery that he was excited about. Shortly after I found Slater, a vampire and a human came up. I hid in the closet over there. The vampire's name was Rose, I never caught the woman's name. They found me soon enough and got me to hack into Slater's files to look up how to get in touch with Klaus. I found a vampire's name Cody and his number. The woman got me to call him and tell him that the doppelganger was ready to turn herself in to Klaus. This upset Rose, who called Damon Salvatore. He showed up a few hours later. In the meantime the woman and Rose were arguing about getting in touch with Klaus and dealing with Elijah. Apparently Elijah had killed her friend Trevor. I think he was the one who killed Slater as well. Anyways, when Damon Salvatore showed up, he grabbed me and compelled me to sleep, so I don't know anything more."

"Tell me about Rose and Damon," instructed Pal.

"Rose is pretty old, over 500 years. She's been on the run from Klaus a long time. Apparently she and Trevor helped the original doppelganger, Katherine Petrova, now Pierce, get away. Katherine sired Damon Salvatore near the end of the Civil War. She was entombed with a number of other vampires in a little town called Mystic Falls about the same time. I think this new doppelganger is from there. Apparently Damon was obsessed with her. Damon has disappeared off and on since then. You could call him an adventurer. He disappeared around the beginning of World War II and he didn't show up again until the '70's when he went on a binge in New York. He's been around since. Rumor is he was waiting for a comet that is visible every 164 years to release Katherine Pierce. It was visible about three years ago. Since then, there has been a lot of activity of werewolves and originals around Mystic Falls."

"Can you print all the information Slater has on these two?"

Alice shook her head, "They must have deleted the files after Damon put me under. Everything I've told is just what I remember from talking with Slater. He thought the coming of this comet was a really big deal and would be the trigger for a lot of changes. I remember him telling me when he found out about the doppelganger being here, that she would be just the beginning."

Pal took a few moments to process the information he had received, and then nodded his head. He took Alice by the arm and led her to the man he had compelled to wait. Pal bit him in the neck to get him bleeding and then told Alice, "Here, you can feed on him, bon apetit."

She tentatively licked some of his blood and then with her fangs emerging for the first time, greedily bit into his neck, killing him and drinking his blood as fast as she could manage. When she had finished she raised up with blood dripping from her chin panting from the ecstasy of her first kill. Pal smiled at her. "I suspect you don't know all that you should about being a vampire. You should do some research, there are some pitfalls you need to avoid, and I don't care to take the time to explain. I'll call in a few days, if you're still alive, we can talk."

Alice began cleaning herself much the way a cat cleans itself after a kill, scraping the gore off her face then licking her fingers clean. Pal left her like that and went to his remaining sidekick who was still waiting in the car. As Pal got into the car the man asked, "Where's Pete?"

"Pete? Oh, was that his name. Pete decided to join Alice for a bite. He won't be with us any longer." Then, compelling him, Pal instructed him, "Forget Pete. He is no longer useful." In a normal tone Pal asked, "Have you heard from Markos?"

"Yeah, he's at the airport waiting for instructions."

Pal nodded, "Good, call him to tell him we'll be by to pick him up. We're going on a road trip."

"Yeah? Where to?"

"Mystic Falls."


	25. Mystic Falls

6/17/2015

Mystic Falls

On the drive to Mystic Falls Pal had much to consider. He told Marcos to call Don and tell him to join them there. Then Pal considered the players who seemed to be involved. He was convinced he was on the right track, too much was happening and it all seemed to be centered in Mystic Falls, around Damon Salvatore. With Klaus on the doppelganger's trail, Pal expected her to be out of the picture by now, but if Salvatore was committed to protecting her, that loss would be plenty to drive him to reckless ventures like taking on organized crime. What did Alice call him, an adventurer? Yes, Damon Salvatore was a very likely candidate. The involvement of Originals was troubling. He needed to know where they stood in this affair. Pal was very confident, but he drew the line at antagonizing the Originals.

The town of Mystic Falls rang a bell for him. He called Anne-Marie. "Anne-Marie, what do you know about Mystic Falls, anything?"

"Pal, you're kidding right? I can't believe you need to ask me that. It's only the beginning place of vampirism. Also, we believe that two Originals were killed there and that their deaths were the cause of the death of hundreds of vampires around the world."

"Two originals were killed? How did that happen?"

"I don't have any details, but I'm pretty sure it happened in Mystic Falls. Also, I don't know what the relationship between their deaths and the mysterious deaths of vampires all over the world, but the lineage seems to be the root cause."

For the first time in decades, Pal felt a chill of fear. To think the death of some stranger, albeit an Original could cause his own death was disconcerting to say the least. For the first time Pal considered vampire genealogy a worthwhile subject. He knew nothing about his own, only that a vampire named Michael Larson turned him and saved his life at the battle for Buna-Gona in World War II. At the time he had thought that Michael had sacrificed his own life to save him, but now, knowing more about vampire physiology, he expected Michael had survived. Pal had looked for him over the years, but Michael had disappeared without a trace. Now, knowing about this threat, it was even more important that Pal find him. In any case, it appeared that Pal's search for an anomaly had led him to the epicenter of a metaphorical tsunami in the vampire world.

He considered what he had learned about Salvatore. The vampire interested him. Pal was always on the look out for talent he could recruit for his own purposes. Salvatore seemed to have potential. If Pal could get Salvatore to negotiate, they might be able to work out a deal. First he would have to demonstrate who was in control.

They arrived in Mystic Falls in time for supper. It seemed the most likely place to eat and drink was a place called the Mystic Grill. Pal told Markos and his friend, "You two go in first. I'm going to walk around to get a feel for the place. When I come in, don't acknowledge me at all. I don't want anyone to know that we are together. Find out when Don expects to get in."

"He sent me a message that it will be later tonight."

Pal acknowledged the information with a nod. "I need to get into my luggage, there is some sophisticated surveillance equipment I will probably need."

After the two went inside, Pal retrieved a cell phone scanner from his luggage. He also took out a capture device so that he could intercept cell phone traffic. He checked his scanner for active cell phones, but it didn't identify any Salvatores. Neither did it identify any Originals, at least assuming they were using any of their known identities. Satisfied, he went into the grill and sat down at the bar.

A waiter approached him and greeted him, "Hi, my name's Matt, can I get you anything to drink while you decide what to order?"

Pal responded, "I'll have a double vodka with tonic. Do you carry Absolut?"

Matt nodded, but said "Legal age is 21, do you have any ID?"

Pal smiled, he got this a lot in the US. He had been 20 when he was turned, but looked like he was even younger. He showed Matt his passport.

"Denmark, you're a long way from home. What brings you to Mystic Falls?"

"I'm a research psychologist who has specialized in supernatural phenomena, although most of my colleagues call me a quack," Pal replied humorously. "I've become aware that Mystic Falls seems to be a nexus of unexplained events and I've decided to come find out for myself. Are you aware of anything of that nature?"

Matt's friendly welcoming expression suddenly became closed and suspicious. "We don't like to talk about that stuff here. Sure there have been a lot of accidents and weird stuff, but it all has reasonable explanations. I'll get your drink. I'm pretty busy so I don't have time to chit chat."

Pal had his capture device ready when he saw Matt pull out his cell phone to place a call. He heard the last part of Matt's call, "… I don't know Bonnie, this guy is just asking about supernatural stuff. He may be on the level, he may not. One thing, his ID says he's 25 but he looks younger than me. It may be nothing, maybe he just looks younger than he is, but it may mean something else entirely. What do you want me to do?"

"See if you can keep him there or find out where he is staying. I'll be right over to check him out," replied Bonnie.

Pal smiled to himself, the nice thing about small towns was you didn't have to look long to find someone in the know. When Matt brought his drink, he took his time with the menu. He didn't want to make it difficult for Matt to keep him there. Within a half hour, an attractive black girl and white guy came in together. When Matt saw them he gave them what he thought was a discrete nod towards Pal so that Pal guessed she must be the girl Bonnie. Pal nursed his drink wondering if they would make any kind of move.

Finally, the guy approached him, "Hi, my name is Jeremy. My friend Matt says you have an interest in the supernatural."

Pal rose and extended his hand, "That's right, my name is Pal. Can you help me?"

"I don't know how much help we can be, why don't you join us and you tell us what you want and we can see?"

"Sure, that will be great." When he joined them he extended his hand to Bonnie, "Hi, my name is Pal Nielsson."

Bonnie took his hand, but couldn't conceal her reaction when she realized he was a vampire from his touch. "I'm Bonnie."

"It's good to meet you Bonnie …" Pal waited to see if Bonnie would volunteer her last name but Bonnie refused to go along.

"So, Mr. Nielsson, what are you looking for in Mystic Falls?"

From Bonnie's reaction when she touched his hand, he guessed she was a witch. He decided playing it cagey was not worth spending the time so he decided to try to provoke a reaction. "Do you know Damon Salvatore?"

Bonnie nodded, "Sure, everyone in town knows Damon, but he's not been around for several months. Why, you don't think Damon is supernatural, do you?"

Pal chuckled, "I'm sure he's no more supernatural than you are, Bonnie. I just heard he would be a good source of information. There are some other people I'm trying to find, members of the Mikaelson family for example, Klaus, Elijah, Kol, Finn, and Rebekah, do you know them?"

Bonnie was becoming increasingly nervous with this line of questions. She couldn't make out what he was about. She shook her head, "I don't know whom you're talking about."

"Well, I have one other name, then I'll leave you alone, Katherine Pierce?"

"She's not here anymore either."

"Not here, meaning she's someplace else, or do you mean something else."

"Not here meaning not here," replied Bonnie.

Pal sighed, "Oh well, I'm sorry to have disturbed you. By the way, Mystic B&B, would you recommend it as a place to stay?"

Bonnie relaxed as Pal ended his interrogation. "Yes, it's very nice, you'll be comfortable there."

Pal finished his drink and left. As he left he made himself ready to capture Bonnie's cell phone as he was certain she would be calling very soon. She did not disappoint him. He had barely left the grill when his device alerted him that she was placing a call. It also informed him that her name was Bonnie Bennett.

"Hello," Damon answered.

"Damon, a vampire who said his name was Pal Nielsson is looking for you. I don't get what he is after. He named off all the originals and Katherine, but he didn't mention Stefan or Elena."

"Did you say Pal Nielsson?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

"I know of him, he's a problem solver. Somebody must have hired him to look for me. Damn, how did he come up with my name?"

"I don't know, Elena warned me that someone might come looking for you."

Damon sighed, "Yes, looks like she was right and I was wrong."

"Wow, I guess that's a new experience for you," replied Bonnie sarcastically. "So what are you going to do?"

"I'll talk to Elena, but it looks like I'm going to have to visit Mystic Falls."

Pal shut his device off deciding he wouldn't need it anymore. He had learned all he needed. He placed another call to Anne-Marie. When she answered he instructed, "Look up Bonnie Bennett and the Bennett family will you? She's a witch and was very cagey about not giving me her last name. Also, look up the names Stefan and Elena. See if anything significant turns up and get back to me."

Within 15 minutes, Anne-Marie called back. "The Bennett name is associated with a long line of powerful witches. Bonnie Bennett is only 19 years old but sources already have her involved with some extraordinary events around Mystic Falls. Be careful with her Pal. I wouldn't take her on head to head. Stefan is Damon Salvatore's brother, he's got quite a history for violence. Looks like he has issues with self-control. Elena doesn't turn up anything at all. There is an Elena Gilbert, but she's a human."

"Do you know where Stefan Salvatore is?"

"Last information I have is he is in California."

"Thanks Anne-Marie." Pal smiled to himself. People often didn't realize the mere effort to hide information was more significant than the information itself. So now he knew, whatever he ended up doing with Salvatore, he would need to stay clear of Bonnie Bennett. He had no intention of tangling with a witch. He recalled the phone conversation he intercepted between Bonnie and Damon. There was a new name mentioned, Elena Gilbert. Who was Elena and why would she be important to Damon Salvatore?

Well in any case, he had preparations to make. Salvatore would be coming soon and he had to be ready. He was going to need some help, some vampire help. He also was going to need a base of operations. He began to make a list to give the three stooges that Kukla had sent with him something to do.

 **Gloucester**

After Damon disconnected with Bonnie he simply stood there thinking. How did Pal Nielsson come up with his name? It was about ripping off the money, there was no other reason for Nielsson to be looking for him at this time. He had covered all his tracks, he was sure of it. He hated to have to break the news to Elena. She had been totally correct. He had thought she was just paranoid, but she had known all along.

Elena noticed his reaction from the phone call. "Who was that, Damon? You look worried."

Damon sighed, "That was Bonnie. You were right Elena, we have a problem."

Alarmed Elena asked, "What is it? Has anyone been hurt?"

Damon shook his head, "No, but there is someone looking for me. Someone who is very good at finding who he is looking for."

"Oh Damon, how much does he know?"

"Not that much. He was fishing for information from Bonnie. He mentioned the Originals and Katherine, but he didn't know about you. We need to give Katherine a heads up. He may think she knows something and make things difficult for her."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to Mystic Falls to confront him. Maybe I can make a deal with him."

"Is that wise? He may just kill you."

Damon shook his head, "There's no way that is going to happen. They want their money more than anything else. If it comes down to it, I'll give the money back to protect us, I promise."

"But will they be satisfied with that?"

"Nielsson and the people he's working for are percentage people. They'll assess the cost verses benefit. If they get their money, I can make the cost of revenge not worth the benefit."

"I'm coming with you."

"Elena, that is an absolutely stupid idea! Nobody knows about you, if you come with me, everyone will know. You're too vulnerable."

"I can still compel."

Damon paused to consider, "You have a point, but it's too dangerous for you to come to Mystic Falls. Maybe I can arrange for him to rendezvous at a place we control. Where you can compel him without being seen yourself. Then you can compel him to close our negotiations the way we want it. In any case, there's no way your going to Mystic Falls. You show up, pregnant, we'll have major problems. Wait here, and I'll call you when I've worked out the details. I'm going ahead to book a flight to Mystic Falls."

Elena nodded, "That makes sense, Damon. Okay, I'll wait." She hugged him and then said, "Remember Damon, it's not just you anymore. What happens to you happens to me."

Damon grimaced, "I really hate that part of the oath."

"It was true before we took the oath, Damon."

After Damon left, Elena picked up her phone and dialed a number. "Meredith, I need your help. I need you to go with me to Mystic Falls."

The weekend Meredith spent in Gloucester had been a special time for both Elena and Meredith. Elena realized that as good friends Bonnie and Caroline were, their negative feelings towards Damon caused her to close off the most important part of her life from them. To find a friend who not only understood but shared those feelings was incredibly important for her. Elena couldn't comprehend how two women could care for the same man and not be rivals, but she was grateful for the fact that it was true for her and Meredith.

Elena saw Damon off on his flight to Charlotte the next morning. He had decided to fly there and drive to Mystic Falls thinking that he could arrive undetected. After he left she bought tickets for Meredith and herself on a flight that departed a few hours later. Meredith arrived soon after and Elena explained all that had happened. They went to have drinks while they waited.

"It means a lot that you came at such a moments notice, Meredith."

"I'm glad you called. I know you have friends in Mystic Falls. I'm not in competition with your friends but I'm glad you called me instead of them."

"There were practical reasons, Meredith. This vampire, Nielsson, tracked Damon to Mystic Falls. He probably knows about my friends there. He doesn't know anything about you. Also, when it comes to Damon, I can trust you, more than them."

Meredith nodded. "How is it you can trust me so much, knowing how I feel about Damon?"

Elena decided to let Meredith know a little bit more about her ability. "I can sense things about the people that are around me Meredith. I can't read their minds of course, but I know what they're feeling. I'd know if you had negative feelings towards me. I'd know if Damon had different feelings for you."

"I see, and if Damon were to begin having different feelings for me?"

"I don't know Meredith. I'm not as generous as you. I'd fight for him. I'd fight you. Damon will always come first for me."

Elena glanced at her watch. Since they had a little more time she decided to broach a sensitive topic with Meredith. "Have you thought anymore about your sire bond with Damon?"

Meredith looked at her sharply, "Does it bother you, Elena, that I'm bonded to him like that?"

Elena shook her head, "Not really, so long as Damon doesn't know, I don't think it's a problem. It doesn't bother you? I think I could break it, if you wanted me to."

"Really? How would you do that?"

"I can compel you to turn your feeling for him off, or to feel a different way. Once the feeling changes, the bond is broken."

Meredith shook her head, "I've thought a lot about my circumstances, Elena. I'm in a really good place right now. Our friendship means a lot to me. I'm enjoying being friends again with Damon. I think my sire bond helps in making all this work. Because you and Damon are obviously happy together, then I'm happy to be with you. I want to leave things as they are. If something should change then we can discuss it again. Did you resent your sire bond with Damon? Is that why you had it broken?"

The question startled Elena, she had never given the matter any thought before. "I didn't have the bond broken, it was broken for me. To tell you the truth, I never resented it. I resented Damon for questioning how I felt for him because of it."

Meredith nodded. "If Damon ever finds out about me, would you compel him to forget, so we can continue as we are?"

"I've promised him that I would never compel him, but in your case, I would consider it."

 **Mystic Falls**

Pal was relaxing in his room at the B&B reviewing his preparations. He had recruited two vampires to help him out along with Marcus, Doug, and their friend. Pal was sure that when Salvatore arrived he would go to his house first. Pal had his three humans there waiting for him along with one of his vampires. The other was watching the Mystic Grill in case Salvatore showed up there. His job would be a little tricky since Pal didn't have a photograph and no one knew what he looked like. He did know all of Salvatore's friends so if someone unknown came into contact with any of them then they would know he was Salvatore.

Pal had just finished arranging for an abandoned warehouse to be set up for interrogation. He had all the needed supplies in place and the equipment set up. His two vampires had been instructed what to do with Salvatore once he had been captured.

Pal was certain the action would take place at the old boarding house. If he read Salvatore correctly he was a straight ahead direct confrontation kind of vampire. Salvatore would be expecting a trap at the house and therefore would go directly there to spring it. All Pal had to do was wait and let Salvatore do all the work.

In Damon's case, Pal was right on target. As Pal was reviewing his placement of resources Damon was at the front door of his house assessing the situation. Damon's hearing told him there were people waiting for him in the house. Nonchalantly, Damon opened the front door and let himself in. As he entered the living room he felt the sting of vervain soaked rope being wrapped around his neck from behind. Damon reacted instantly, ignored the sting of vervain and pulled its wielder up close so that Damon could reach for his head and snap his neck. Damon felt the sting of a bullet in his shoulder before he heard the sound of gunshot. It was a normal bullet. The idiots didn't know what they were dealing with. With his vampire speed, Damon was on top of the shooter in an instant and ripped his throat out with his fangs. The third man, Marcos, saw enough and turned to run away. His running saved his life. Since it was no longer self-defense Damon's oath prevented him from killing this last assailant. Damon contented himself with simply breaking both the man's legs.

Damon paused, surveyed the carnage, and smiled. He had to admit, he enjoyed cutting loose like that. His moment of gloating was interrupted by the sting of a dart pricking his back, and then he felt the burn of vervain being injected into his body. That dick Nielsson had used these humans as decoys while someone set up the real ambush. With that last thought, Damon faded into unconsciousness.

8


	26. Interrogation

6/17/2015

 **Interrogation**

The vampire who shot Damon went over to him and shot him with a second dart, to be sure. Then called Pal on his cell phone. "Hi, this is Andrew, I've got him. Yes, everything went just as you said. Oh, that fellow Marcos is still alive. Salvatore broke both his legs but didn't kill him. The other ones? Yeah, their dead. Sure, no problem, it will be treat. I'll have Salvatore over in 20 minutes. What about this mess? Great, I hate cleaning up." When Andrew hung up the phone he went over to Marcos.

Marcos moaned in pain, "Get me to a hospital, will you? The bastard broke both my legs!"

Andrew didn't answer, his face transformed as he pounced on Marcos taking his life as he drank Marcos' blood.

It took Damon a couple of hours to revive from the double shot of vervain. He groaned from the splitting headache he had as a result. He found he was completely tied down with vervain soaked ropes. His head was secured so that he couldn't turn it to either side. Hanging above him was what appeared to be an IV bag with a hose suspended directly over his face. Behind him he heard someone make a call.

"Pal, this Andrew, he's awake. You want me to put you on speaker?"

Apparently Pal said yes, because Damon heard him say, "Go ahead and begin the drip, Andrew. Hello Damon, the contents of that bag hanging above your face is a special mixture of mine of hydrofluoric acid and vervain. Each drop that lands on your face will sting like hell and strip away some of your flesh. It will continue until there is nothing left of your face to feel the pain. The nice thing about vampires is that once that stops, I can give you human blood and your face will reconstruct itself. I believe that is as painful as the acid drip. Once your face recovers, we can start the whole process over again. Andrew, do you understand what you're supposed to do?

"Sure, how do I know when to stop the acid and give him blood?"

"When he's not screaming in pain any more, of course."

Damon called out, "Hey Pal, this isn't necessary you know. I'm ready to go ahead and make a deal."

"Hmmm, I don't think so Damon, you may think you are, but I think we need to come to a mutual understanding first. You can comfort yourself in knowing that no permanent damage will take place. You're just going to have a very long night. Andrew, call me when his face has recovered. Bye Damon, we'll have a nice chat soon enough."

"Dick," was all that Damon could get out because he screamed in pain as the first acid drop landed on his forehead.

Elena and Meredith were landing in Charlotte at about the same time Damon gave out his first scream of pain. They had about a 2 ½ hour drive to Mystic Falls so indeed, Damon was going to have a very long night.

When they arrived at the Salvatore boarding house, they found the place was a wreck. Nothing had been done with any of the dead men. It was more than Meredith could stand and she ran outside to vomit. Unfortunately for Elena, she had seen this kind of carnage before. Looking at the position and the wounds of the dead men, she could piece together what had happened. The fact that one of them had broken legs and then had obviously been fed upon by a vampire told her that Damon had been captured by vampires. The humans were merely a diversion. She hated leaving the house like this, but it was vitally important to find Damon. She grabbed some water and some whiskey and went to Meredith.

Meredith took the water to rinse her mouth out and wash her face. Then she took a hard pull of whiskey to steady her nerves. "Sorry Elena, I had never seen anything like that. Elena, I have a confession to make."

"What's that, Meredith?"

"I've never killed anyone."

"Who taught you how to feed?"

"Damon, of course. Who else?"

"And you never took a life?"

Meredith shook her head. "Why, did Damon cause you to kill your first time?"

"No, Damon wasn't the only one who taught me. There was a lot going on, but he has never led me to kill." Elena shook her head. She wished Bonnie and Caroline could have heard this conversation. She wished she had time to explore this further. "It doesn't matter, Meredith. I know you'll be able to do what you have to, when the time comes. If we are careful, we shouldn't have to do any killing. The witch who helped you find Damon, does she have everything she needs to find him again?"

Meredith nodded and dialed the witch on her phone. "Cassie? This is Meredith. I'm with a friend and I'm putting you on speaker."

"Hi Cassie, this is Elena Salvatore we need your help. We need to find Damon as quickly as possible, can you help us?"

"It will take me a few minutes to get the things I need. I'll call you back as soon as I am ready."

"Thanks Cassie," replied both Elena and Meredith.

To take her mind off of what could be happening to Damon, Elena followed up on what Meredith had said earlier. "How did Damon teach you, Meredith?"

"He called it SEE, Snatch, Eat, and Erase. You find a likely human, compel them to be still, drink some of their blood and then erase the event from their mind. We'd spend the night out in nightclubs, dancing and feeding, and making out. It was a blast. Damon made being a vampire the coolest thing that had ever happened to me. I've never felt any need to actually take a life."

Elena was considering the different paths their lives had followed when Cassie called them back. "Hi girls I'm ready, hold on, I'm channeling Damon now.

He is in great pain, he's screaming, he has his eyes closed so I can't see where he is, no wait, he doesn't have his eyes closed, he's blind. His eyes are damaged so that he can't see. He had been tortured, now his body is repairing itself and it is hurting him a great deal."

Elena stifled a sob, she needed to use all of her will power to stay focused on finding Damon. She wanted to collapse in a ball and wail in agony over the suffering he was enduring. She had to stay calm. "Cassie can you see in his memory, does he have any knowledge of where they are keeping him?"

"I'm trying honey, it's hard with the pain he's experiencing. He is inside someplace large, a wide open space. He had been there before, he remembered it. Another vampire? I'm sorry, I can't get anything else, he is in too much pain."

"I know where he is!" cried Elena. "Let's go, Meredith, we need to hurry."

Pal and Benjamin, the other vampire, were already arriving. Andrew had called a short while ago to inform him that Damon's face was close to healed although he was still in a lot of pain. "There is a lot of him to repair," replied Pal. "His eyes especially will take a while. All of it will hurt. He should be able to carry on a conversation at this time though. I need to have some privacy with Mr. Salvatore. The two of you should wait outside."

When Pal finally saw Damon for the first time he froze in shock and disbelief. It can't be possible! Pal stepped closer to Damon and examined him carefully. He pulled out his wallet and retrieved an old picture and held it next to Damon's face. There was no question about it, Damon was his sire from World War II. Damon Salvatore was Michael Larson!"

Pal stepped away and paced back forth, trying to relieve the pent up emotion. He had reached the point where he was sure that Michael had been killed in the war. He cursed himself for a fool. It never occurred to him that Michael Larson was an alias. This is the man that had kept him alive on the hellish march over Ghost Mountain. He saved his life in the swamps in front of Buna-Gona. Pal had carried the guilt of abandoning him there for these past 70 years. And now he had endured Pal's fiendish torture for the past 6 hours.

Damon could feel that his face had recovered, but he still couldn't see. He was aware that someone had drawn close and then pulled away. He had been waiting impatiently for somebody to say something. He was apprehensive regarding what would be happening next. Finally, he couldn't wait any longer. "Pal I assume? Have we reached a mutual understanding yet, asshole? Or do I get another treatment."

His voice choked with emotion, Pal replied, "No my old friend, no more treatments for you. I'd release you, but I'm afraid you would become violent. I need you to understand what has happened first."

Puzzled, Damon asked, "Do I know you?"

"I think we will wait until your eyesight recovers, it will save on explanations and give me time to recover. I confess to feeling quite emotional at the moment."

Damon was grateful to have achieved respite from his torture but was baffled about this apparent connection between Nielsson and himself. For the life of him he could not think of why all of a sudden Pal Nielsson should be so emotional about finding him. "Did you have another name at some point? I don't recall ever meeting a Nielsson before."

"How about Nelson? Paul Nelson? That was my birth name. I changed it to Pal Nielsson the original European spelling when I moved to Copenhagen."

Paul Nelson, Paul Nelson, now THAT name rang a bell. Damon thought hard, where had he come across that name?

"You don't remember me? You saved my life maybe a dozen times, Michael."

Michael, he called me Michael, he must mean Michael Larson. Then it connected for Damon. "Yeah, I remember you. Your brother Olsen asked me to look out for you when we left from Port Moresby on that trek on the Kapa Kapa trail. Did Olsen make it through the war?"

"I'm afraid not, he was killed in the assault on Saidor. What happened to you, Michael? I left you for dead. It wasn't until later that I realized you had probably still been alive."

"Believe it or not, I was a POW at Rabaul."

Pal had heard of Rabaul. There weren't many who survived. "Well Michael, you had a pretty rough go of things, things haven't changed much for you since then."

"Call me Damon, will you. Michael was an alias. Things were getting hot for me in New Orleans at the time. Can you untie me now? I'm not going to get violent, I promise. These ropes are soaked with vervain, you know."

Pal chuckled, "Sure Damon, I'll get it." Just then Pal's eyes widened in surprise, he turned his back to Damon and sat down on the floor. "Apparently, you have an Original on your side, Damon. I'm being compelled."

Since he was still bound, he couldn't look around to see, but he knew who had come. Next thing he knew he was being violently kissed. He still couldn't see but knew that Elena had done what Elena does best, disobey common sense and place herself in the midst of danger. He had never been so happy to see anyone, even though he technically still couldn't see. She quickly untied him and then another woman came and hugged and kissed him. He took a second and realized that Meredith was here as well.

Damon gestured at Pal, "You can compel him to forget everything he sees and hears, right?" Elena nodded.

"Ok, you can release him from compulsion for the moment, we need to talk."

"Is that safe? He kidnapped and tortured you. You still can't see. I don't think Meredith is a match for him."

At this point, Pal spoke up, "I assure you, I intend no further harm for any of you. I am extremely sorry for the discomfort I caused Michael, eh, Damon this past evening. If I had known who he was, the evening would have been spent in a far more pleasurable manner, I assure you."

Damon considered Pal incredulously, "Discomfort? You call that discomfort? It was bloody agony you asshole!"

Pal shrugged, "Yes, well it's all a matter of perspective."

Elena stared at Damon and then Pal and then back at Damon. "You two know each other?"

"Yes, we fought together in New Guinea in World War II. We were together in the Ghost Battalion."

Weakly Elena asked, "So you fought in World War II? Stefan never said anything about you being in the war with him."

"I don't think Stefan knows. He went to Africa, I went to the Pacific. That's why it is called a World War."

"I keep finding out things about you Damon. Why do I keep getting surprised?"

"Elena, I've been alive a hundred and seventy years. You want me to write a biography?"

"Yes," she snapped. "A biography would be very nice, why don't you do that?"

"Ahem," interrupted Pal. "I do believe we have some things to discuss. Some introductions would be polite. By the way, there were a couple of associates outside, could I inquire how they were dealt with?"

"I put them to sleep," replied Elena. "Meredith distracted them so I could compel them without their seeing me."

"I am very confused regarding exactly what you are, my dear. You can compel vampires yet you are obviously pregnant.'

"There's no point in explaining it, Pal. We'll just have to compel you to forget it."

Pal nodded in acceptance of this information. "Well then, I assume your name is Elena?" Elena nodded. "And your name must be Meredith?" Meredith gave a half wave in acknowledgement. "You two have come to rescue Damon, most efficiently, I might add. We have the matter of Kukla's 18 million dollars to resolve. Obviously, you can leave here without providing any money, and I won't pursue you any further, but I can assure you that won't be the end. Kukla will be able to trace my trail, which will lead him to you. Believe me, it is in all of our interests to find a resolution."

"What was your original plan? You were softening me up for some negotiation. What were you wanting to accomplish."

Pal smiled, "Yes, I wanted you to turn over Kukla's money to me and I wanted to recruit you to be one of my associates."

The latter statement startled Damon. "You torture people into joining you? I wouldn't think there would be much loyalty."

"People join me because it is in their best interest to join me. I merely demonstrate the cost for not maintaining their loyalty."

"Whatever," interjected Elena. "Let's say you get the money, what then? You just hand it over?"

"That my dear, is my business," Pal replied coldly.

Elena spoke compelling him, "Now it's my business. What were your plans once you got the money?"

Reluctantly Pal replied, "I was going to compel him to obey me. Kukla would become my puppet."

"What about Gallivan?" Damon interrupted.

"Once Kukla get's his money, he'll destroy Gallivan. I'll control organized crime in New England," replied Pal.

Damon pulled Elena and Meredith aside and whispered quietly. "Do you know what this means?" They looked at him blankly. "Nielsson is going to control Kukla, and guess who's going to control Nielsson?"

It took them a second to process what he was saying, then Elena gave a half smile. "I do. I control Nielsson. What do you want to do?"

Damon thought for a moment. "We need to handle this carefully. Elena, compel him to forget everything about you. He can remember I'm Michael Larson and he can think we reached a deal where I gave him the 18 million and he let me go. Then plant a trigger, any time you call him he has to come to the place of your choosing alone and in secret. Then he'll run Kukla's business however he sees fit, but we have the string to pull him in once we decide on what we want him to do. What do you guys think?"

Elena looked at Meredith who nodded her agreement. Elena liked it. It didn't commit them to anything. If they chose they could be completely out of it, but they had the option of doing some very good things as well. "Yes, I think it's perfect. Leave me alone with him for a few minutes. I want to do this carefully and not leave any loopholes."

Damon nodded. "Pal, do you have a computer with internet access? I need to transfer the money over to you."

After they had finished with Pal, they decided to return to the Salvatore boarding house. Damon's eyesight was recovering slowly and Elena wanted to clean up the mess left from the previous attack. It took all three of them to dispose of the bodies. By the time they were finished, Damon's eyesight had returned. The effort of cleaning up and the emotional stress had left Elena exhausted. They collapsed together in the living room.

"Was it bad in New Guinea?" Elena asked Damon.

He nodded. "It was the worse I have ever been through. The march through the jungle and over the mountains took us 42 days. Everyone but me had malaria, dysentery and trench foot. Then, when we got on the other side we had to attack fortifications wading in the swamp. New Guinea and then Rabaul the combination was more than I could take."

"So you turned off your humanity."

Damon nodded.

"It was off in the the 70's and when you were with Meredith in the 90's, had you turned it on in between?" Elena asked.

"No not really. I found this grey area, where it wasn't on, but it wasn't completely off. I existed in this zone of not really caring about anything. The only thing that kept me going was my obsession with Katherine. I felt I owed it to her to get her free."

"It was off when we first met?"

Damon nodded.

"What was it that caused you to turn it back on?"

"I didn't really decide, it sort of flipped on by itself."

"When did that happen?"

"When we first danced together, you know, at the Founders Court. I tried to flip it back off, but I couldn't."

7


	27. Graduation

6/17/2015

 **Graduation Day Several Months Later**

"Elena, Meredith is here," called Damon.

"Great, tell her to come on back to the nursery," Elena yelled back. Elena checked over everything one last time. She was sure she had everything taken care of. Even if she didn't, she knew Meredith could cope easily.

Meredith came into the nursery gave a brief hello to Elena and immediately squatted by the playpen where Jenna and Damon Jr. were playing quietly. When they saw Meredith arrive, they stopped what they were doing, pulled themselves up to the side of the pen and held their arms out to be picked up.

Meredith laughed, "You munchkins, I know better. Once I pick you up, you won't let me set you down again. No, you go back to your playing." Whining the two went back to playing with their toys.

Elena watched how easily the twins minded their Aunt Meredith. "Are you compelling them, Meredith? You know we have rules about that, only if it's absolutely necessary will we allow them to be compelled." Elena, was half teasing. She didn't really think they had been compelled, she was jealous that Meredith had gotten them to mind so easily when it was such a struggle for her sometimes.

Meredith smiled at Elena, "You know I would never do that to them or to you. They don't see me as often so they tend to mind me more easily. Are you excited about seeing your brother graduate?"

"Relieved would be more accurate. To think of all Jeremy has gone through, it's amazing that he is not only graduating but will be going to college in the fall."

"I'll bet you're thrilled he's going to Boston University which is so close to Gloucester."

Elena smiled contentedly, "Yes, the hardest part of staying here has been not seeing much of Jeremy. Of course, where Jeremy is, Bonnie won't be far away. I suspect she influenced his decision a little once she accepted that Damon and I were staying here in Gloucester."

"She really is taking serious her obligation to keep an eye out for you two."

Elena nodded soberly. "I should never have told her what a near disaster it was when I returned to being a vampire. I never expected her to feel responsible."

Elena's plan for surprising Damon with her return to her vampire self while making love had not gone as planned to say the least. The twins had been born the second week of March, only slightly premature, especially for twins. She had breast fed them for the first month, but she was anxious to have them transition to formula. She was feeling considerable pressure to allow her body to return to its vampire form. She didn't understand the source of the pressure, but she didn't question it either. Elena remembered the excitement she felt when her fangs returned and how much she looked forward to making love with Damon that night to show him her full return. Therefore she had been completely unprepared when what was intended to be a playful nip awakened a lust for blood that she did not have the ability to resist or control.

She attacked Damon with ferocity and drank deeply from him. It took all of his strength to separate himself before he became too dehydrated to function. Even after he was able to separate himself, Elena renewed her attack, forgetting who he was in her need to satisfy her desire for blood. Neither of them had understood that the months spent as a human had not eliminated the need for blood but had merely caused it to lay like a dormant volcano, building in intensity. It was the cry of the babies that pierced her awareness enough to end her attack on Damon. Even then, Elena felt conflicted between the desire of a mother to comfort her children and the desire of a vampire who could sense the proximity of fresh human blood. In a panic, Elena cried to Damon to protect the children from her and she ran outside and threw herself into the frigid ocean.

Elena hoped she could either drown herself to be revived later or the shock of the cold water would help her to regain control. In either case, it worked, temporarily. She knew better, however, than to go back into the house where there was only a weakened Damon present to protect her babies from her need for blood. Elena remained on the beach sobbing hysterically, questioning what kind of monster she had become, while Damon called Meredith and told her there was an emergency and she needed to come over immediately.

Once Meredith arrived, Damon only said, "I need you to stay with the children. I have to take Elena out and help her feed before she looses complete control." Then Damon went out to the beach to get Elena.

She was shivering with cold but said through chattering teeth, "We have to do this right Damon. It has to be done the way we have established. Oh God, I don't know if I can manage!"

"We'll manage, together. You've got to hold it together until we get to Boston. Then you'll need to send out your general compulsion to find some freak predator. I can take it from there. Do that Elena, you've got to."

In the end, they were successful. Damon was able to find a serial rapist. With Damon by her side ensuring she didn't loose control, Elena was able to compel the needed confession from him, learn who he was and why he did the things that he did. Several times Damon had to break them apart as he saw her loosing control and almost killing her prey outright. He made sure she was able to achieve that last spiritual release of his soul. Once she had finished, she pushed the body away from her and wiped the blood off of her mouth. "I think I'm going to be alright now. I … I need to hunt again though."

"I know," replied Damon. "I'll give Meredith a call and let her know that you're okay and that we'll be gone for a while."

They spent the entire night hunting. Elena didn't know how many she killed that night, but the sun had fully risen when she finished her last and felt that it was safe for her to go home. Damon brought her home and gently tucked her into bed before he went back out to take care of the cleanup that had to be performed. Between dealing with the bodies and taking care of his own needs, it took him another two days before he could return home again. When he made it home he found Elena pacing the floor anxiously, struggling to maintain control of her need for more blood. Elena and Damon spent every night for the next week hunting in different towns up and down the Eastern Seaboard. About the time they both began to despair of ever returning to a normal life, Elena began to make progress regaining her normal balanced self. It still took another three weeks before the frequency of Elena's need to hunt was restored to what it was prior to her pregnancy.

Throughout those initial weeks, Elena had been terrified of the lust that she had never known she could feel. For the first time, she understood the compulsion that Stefan had to resist and control every day of his life. With this understanding Elena felt both admiration for Stefan and fear of him, knowing how close to the edge he spent every waking moment. She was thankful to have Damon by her side. Who knows what could have happened without him.

"Elena? Where are you, you're a million miles away!" laughed Meredith.

Elena shivered as her thoughts returned to the present. "I was just thinking how lucky I am that you and Damon are both in my life."

"Not only Damon and I," Meredith reminded her, "but you have Jenna and Little Damon as well."

Elena hugged Meredith "Thank you, thank you so much, I love you Meredith."

Meredith was surprised at the fervor of Elena's proclamation. She patted Elena on the back and with tears moistening her eyes replied, "I love you too, dear girl."

At this moment, Damon called out, "Elena, we've got to get going! If we miss our flight I don't know who will be the most pissed off, Jeremy or Bonnie. Let's go!'

Both women chuckled at his impatience and Meredith pushed Elena out of the nursery. "Go, before Damon has a fit."

Damon and Elena were thrilled when they discovered that Bonnie, Jeremy, Caroline, Tyler, and Matt were all waiting for them at the airport. As soon as Damon and Elena had cleared security and claimed their luggage, Caroline came straight to the point, "Why aren't you coming back to Mystic Falls. This is your home Elena. This is where you belong."

Elena shook her head, "I don't belong any specific place, I belong with Damon. We both love Gloucester, we like the coast. We'll probably stay a good bit of the summer in Mystic Falls, but for now, our home is in Gloucester."

"What are you going to do with the boarding house?" queried Tyler.

"We're going to keep it of course," replied Damon. "It's not like we're never coming back. As Elena said, we'll come back a good deal during the summer, so we'll need a place here. Speaking of the boarding house, I've made arrangements to celebrate Jeremy's graduation there, of course you all are invited."

They were all gathered together that evening over drinks. Caroline was entertaining them with anecdotes about rooming with Katherine. "To tell the truth, I hardly see her anymore. She's with Lance most of the time."

"I would never have seen that coming," observed Bonnie. "Do you think they are very serious about each other?"

Caroline shook her head. "They like each other, sure, but it's all about what each is doing for the other with sex thrown in. Lance has got Katherine on a super- fast track to graduate school and her PhD. Katherine is a gold mine of historical information for Lance. Also, I suspect she wants to get pregnant."

Everyone but Elena was shocked at that latest piece of gossip. Elena recalled how happy Katherine had been with the realization that she was fertile. Elena could easily believe that Katherine was more than willing to skip the husband and go straight to pregnant. It was typical.

"How much did she explain to Lance about us?" asked Damon.

"I'm pretty sure she told him a sanitized version of everything about herself. Lance is pretty smart, I imagine he's figured everything else out. He's pretty cool about it. He's looking at it from an academic perspective. I don't think he's really dealt with the reality that Katherine has killed."

Elena shivered as she considered her own life style. She wondered what Lance's academic perspective would make of her. "How interested is he in Damon? Is he still looking into Damon's life?"

Caroline nodded. "He keeps bugging us to get you two to come over for an interview. He says that once he understood what to look for, he's finding out all kinds of interesting information about you. He's kind of developing a hero complex. If he only knew the Damon I know, I imagine he'd feel different."

Everyone, including Damon, chuckled at Caroline's barb. Everyone that is except Elena. She found herself resenting more and more Caroline's persistent negative comments about Damon. Caroline noticed Elena's withdrawal and decided to change the subject. "Elena, I'm disappointed you didn't bring your babies. How can you bear to leave them?"

Elena smiled, "Meredith wouldn't speak to me if I were to deprive her of looking after Jenna and Little Damon."

"I think it's great you named your daughter after Aunt Jenna," remarked Jeremy.

"It was Damon's choice. We agreed that he would name our daughter and I would name our son."

"So Damon Jr. was your choice, not his?" remarked Caroline, surprised.

Elena nodded and laughed. "He didn't like it at first, but he's warmed up to the idea."

"When do we get to meet Meredith?" asked Bonnie. "Apparently you've become very close."

Elena didn't really want to talk about Meredith with them. She didn't want them to understand how close they really were. She answered vaguely, "Meredith has been a very good friend. She understands me as well as anyone, better than most."

Feeling a little jealous, Caroline pouted, "What about us? We've been friends forever, so why does Meredith get such access to your babies and we don't?"

Elena looked at Caroline calmly and replied in a matter of fact tone, "Care, that is simply the way things are."

Bonnie regarded her two friends closely. She had long been aware that underneath the loving and compassionate personality that she and Caroline tended to assume was the real Elena, lay a will of iron. With all that she had gone through, the will of iron was becoming more the real Elena than the loving and compassionate side. It is unfortunate for Caroline that her unwillingness to suppress her disdain for Damon, no matter how justified, has placed her on the wrong side of Elena's iron will. Bonnie believed that already Caroline had reached the point where their friendship would never be the same. Elena had simply moved on and left Caroline behind without even a thought of regret.

The fact that in the two latest crises that Elena had faced, she had turned to Meredith and not even consulted Bonnie, told Bonnie that she had lost ground as well in her friendship with Elena. Bonnie was anxious to meet Meredith, this vampire who had supplanted them both in Elena's inner circle of confidence. She knew that she would have to work to restore Elena's confidence in her and was thankful for her relationship with Jeremy that kept the door open and gave her a second chance.

Bonnie wondered if she should intervene and talk with Caroline. She realized that if things continued as they were, Elena would ultimately close the door on their friendship and walk away, leaving Caroline wondering what had happened. As loathe as Bonnie was to get in the middle, she decided that she owed it to Caroline and vowed to talk with her at the earliest opportunity.

Her reflections were interrupted with her awareness that someone else had arrived at the front door. Damon rose to see who was knocking, opened the door and when he saw who was their exclaimed, "Nielsson! What the hell are you doing here!"

With his usual aloof humor Pal responded, "My sources tell me that your lovely wife's little brother was celebrating his matriculation. Considering our new found friendship, I would be remiss in not making a personal appearance to express my felicitations."

Elena paled when she heard his voice but rose gamely to greet him. "Mr. Nielsson, thank you for coming. Let me introduce you to everyone."

"I don't think many introductions are necessary. I have met Bonnie Bennett on my last visit to Mystic Falls. I didn't realize at the time that her escort was your brother Jeremy. Congratulations Jeremy, I'm sure your sister is very proud of you." Pal smiled warmly as he shook Jeremy's hand. He then gestured at Caroline. "I'm sure I would remember meeting such a lovely vampire as yourself, but I know your name, Caroline, and your close friend Tyler. It is a pleasure, my name is Pal Nielsson. I am an old friend of Damon's." Pal turned to Elena, "I am disappointed that Meredith Tappinger couldn't be here, but she had another commitment didn't she? It is always a comfort to have a good friend, and in vampire terms, a close relative to be on hand to look after your children, Jenna and Damon Jr.."

"Meredith is a relative?" asked Caroline in confusion.

"He is referring to the fact that I sired her," growled Damon.

Pal nodded, "In vampire terms, Meredith and Elena are sisters, but then so are you, aren't you Caroline? As a matter of fact, that makes me your brother." Pal clapped his hands in delight at this pretended sudden realization. "We're all part of Damon's family, so this could be considered a family reunion!"

Elena understood that the show was simply to demonstrate the extent of knowledge Nielsson had gained about her life. She considered compelling him to silence and wiping his mind clean of all his memories, but she didn't know what kind of contingencies he might have. Loopholes, she cursed to herself, there were always loopholes.

"Alright Nielsson, you've proven you know every jot and tittle about our lives. So what? Why are you here?" snapped Damon. Damon was using his bravado to cover how badly shaken he was that Nielsson had managed to learn so much about their lives.

In a more businesslike tone Pal responded, "A private word with you and Elena. Just a few moments are all that I need."

Elena stood up and spoke calmly to everyone in the room, "You'll have to excuse us, Damon and I will have to see what Mr. Nielsson requires. Mr. Nielsson you may follow us to the library, that should be sufficiently private." The only sign of Elena's fear was the slight tremble as she took Damon's hand.

Once the door closed behind them, Damon turned on Pal, "Give me a reason not to rip out your heart."

Pal held out his hands in surrender, "I mean you no harm. That little show in there was simply to reinforce my bargaining position." He made a slight bow towards Elena, "You left quite a puzzle for me to solve as a result of my last visit to Mystic Falls. You should know there is nothing I enjoy more than solving difficult puzzles. As you can see, I have managed to put most of the pieces together, as incredible as they seem. The famous detective stories of Sherlock Holmes was fond of stating 'When you eliminate all other possibilities, the only one remaining, no matter how improbable, has to be the truth.' Elena, I am well aware that I have been placed under your compulsion. I'm not sure how it has happened that you have such unprecedented ability but it is the only possiblity. While we are together, you can make me do anything you wish. I know I am under compulsion to come to you like a dog with the merest phone call. I know this and I want to assure you that I don't resent it, because you have not abused the power that you have. You have not required me to perform any actions that violate my own self-interest. Therefore, I wish to propose an alliance. I admire you two greatly and I am confident that if you allow it, we can be of service for each other."

"Okay, I'll bite, what do you have in mind?" snapped Damon.

Ignoring Damon's tone, Pal replied, "I am certain that times are coming that will be very difficult for the supernatural community, especially vampires. We will not be able to live in secret for much longer. I don't know how long we have, decades, maybe a century, but the time will come when we are completely exposed. We have to prepare or be destroyed."

"What's the source of this threat," Damon asked doubtfully.

"Computers." Elena interrupted. "Computers are the danger. They can't be compelled, they consolidate and sort data to expose patterns. With the digital age, neither vampires or witches will be able to function without leaving a digital trail."

Pal nodded, impressed. "You are quite right. The ease with which I can detect patterns and reach conclusions has proven to me how vulnerable we are now. If it wasn't for the significant human element still in place we would already be exposed."

"So what's your solution? A world-wide computer virus?" asked Damon.

Pal shook his head. "That is both not practical, neither is it a solution. No, the ultimate solution is that we must come out into the open on our own terms. Until we are ready, we must be on guard to suppress any outbreak of knowledge that vampirism is more than scary stories. For this, you are uniquely positioned to enable that to happen."

"You'll have to explain," remarked Elena, dubiously

"Your relationship with the Originals for one. Your ability to compel is another. The fact that Damon's bloodline is no longer tied to any Original is a plus, especially if violence must be resorted to. Your activities in eliminating serial criminals is a major point in your favor in discussions with humans. What we accomplished with Kukla and Gallavant can be performed all over the globe. Between us, we can establish indirect control over all organized crime. With a little care and patience, we can position ourselves where we are able to negotiate a treaty with humans that will guarantee our survival at least and most likely our continued prosperity."

"What do you mean, we're not tied to any Original?" Elena asked.

"When Esther bound all her children together, she also bound all the vampires to the Original that began each line. When Bonnie broke the bond of the Originals, she was not able to break the bond that tied their bloodline. Since you two are now Originals in your own right, the link created by Esther doesn't apply. The deaths of two Originals with the subsequant death of their entire blood-line has left significant unrest with vampires across the globe. It has not yet become common knowledge of each vampire's link with their respective Original, but it will. When that happens, factions or tribes will be formed. Vampires will identify more closely with the Original they are sired from, since their very life will depend on the Originals continuation. Add to this the knowledge that there is an actual weapon that can kill an original and we are talking about redefining vampirism altogether. You and your line will be the only vampires who can be independent. For humans who desire to be vampires, being turned by someone from the Salvatore bloodline will be a burning ambition."

"How do you know this?" challenged Damon.

"When I became aware of Elena's prowess with compulsion, I contacted some witches who investigated. They filled me in. However, they imposed severe penalties on me, if I ever reveal what I know to anyone else. All witches have gotten their orders, leave the Salvatores alone, or else. Even so, if word gets out to other vampires, you'll be in great danger."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it is information you need to know."

"So, what do you contribute?" asked Damon. "Why do we need you?"

"I have very good sources of information. I am very good at detecting patterns and recognizing my opponent's strategies. Look how easily I found you in the first place. Trust me when I say, I now know more about the two of you than anyone else, in this world at least. Even with the resources you have, you don't have a chance unless you have superior information."

Elena nodded and turned to Damon. "He makes sense, and after all, nothing has to be done immediately. We have time."

Pal smiled broadly, "Excellent! Damon I hope you appreciate how intelligent your wife is. She is correct. You don't have to do anything for the moment. Just keep our lines of communication open and continue doing what you have been. Damon, keep up with your excellent work of maintaining contacts with law enforcement. I'll be in touch when other opportunities arise to relieve some undesirable characters of excessive quantities of cash. I might suggest you two consider taking your activities internationally, of course when your children are older. Travel does broaden the mind. You should come to Copenhagen, I guarantee you'll fall in love, it is a wonderful city. Well, I assume we have achieved an understanding for the time being?" When both Damon and Elena nodded, Pal shook Damon's hand and embraced Elena. "Au revoir, I know that you don't trust me, but I believe this marks a beginning of a close friendship and a historical alteration in the course of human events."

"You don't get carried away at all, do you?" drawled Damon ironically.

Pal laughed, "We shall see, Damon, we shall see. I'll see myself out, good evening."

True to his word, Pal left immediately leaving Damon and Elena staring at each other in bafflement. Finally Damon spoke, "I never saw that coming."

8


	28. 21 Years Later

6/17/2015

 **21 Years Later**

Elena was taking her habitual morning walk along the beach. As usual, she reveled in the bitter winter weather, soaking in the violence of the ocean as it continued its eternal assault on the rocks of the beach. She always felt energized after these few hours of solitude with only the implacable forces of nature as her companion. She always enjoyed the winter months. The calm sultry heat of summer bored her. The calmness of the summer ocean may beckon tourists to come and soak in the gentle swells, but when Elena watched the children splash in the surf, she knew this was not reality. It was an illusion. The reality was the power of nature unleashed as could only be seen in the winter months as storm after storm passed by. Elena felt that she was very much like the sea. Like the ocean in summer, she had her moments of calm, when children could play with security in her midst, confident that they were protected, loved, and cared for. Elena understood that this was only an illusion, that violence and power rested in her bosom, waiting for an opportunity to be unleashed. This was why she and Damon loved each other so well, they were so much the same.

Elena laughed at herself with her fancies. In only a few months they would be celebrating the twins 21st birthday. Tomorrow was Christmas. It was curious how this time of year caused her to entertain such morbid thoughts. Damon understood. He had his moments of gloom as well. Instinctively, each knew when to leave the other to their thoughts and when to tease each other back into good humor. This year was significant for them both. They were married now 21 years. Their children were now adults and would be gone soon. She and Damon would have 7 years with just each other and then the cycle would begin again. They would be better prepared next time, at least for some things. Elena laughed. At least they would bring a change of clothes.

Now was a good time to take stock of the past years with Jenna and Little Damon as well as her friends and family. Bonnie and Jeremy were married fourteen years now with children of their own. Jeremy was working in Boston as a successful graphical artist. Bonnie was happily indulging her pursuit of knowledge, expanding her grimoire. Their first two children were boys and Bonnie despaired of being able to pass along her considerable power as the boys showed no inclination at all. Then their third child arrived, a girl, and all of Bonnie's hopes of a protégé were satisfied. She named her Abby after her mother.

Katherine had two children, 12 and 14, but never married. She had lived with Lance for several years, however, when Elijah decided to renew their relationship, Lance had no interest in competing with the history between them and decided to move out. It was an amicable split, neither was passionately in love with the other, their relationship had been simply convenient. Lance remained involved with the children and gladly kept them when Elijah was staying with Katherine. As far as Katherine was concerned, she still loved Elijah, however, neither trusted the other enough to establish anything long term.

She was a professor at American University in Washington and had several significant works on European history published. Elena and Katherine visited each other several times a year although Elena had never told Katherine the complete truth about Damon and her. Katherine was aware that Elena had significant ability but didn't know to what extent.

Katherine had promised the twins that she would be there for their 21st birthday. From their point of view, she was the 'fun' aunt, the one who would help them when they wanted to get into trouble.

Meredith relocated her practice to Gloucester soon after the kids were born. Her reputation was high enough that people gladly drove from Boston and around the area to seek her help. There were times, with some of the more troubled patients, that Meredith enlisted Elena's abilities to sense people's feelings to help. On a few occasions patients came through her door that required Elena's other, more permanent solution to their problem. Meredith had no qualms directing Elena's attention to these men. To sit back and allow evil to be perpetrated simply because the rules of men required it was not acceptable. Meredith was glad that she had a practical alternative.

As far as Elena knew, Meredith still had her sire bond to Damon intact. There were occasions when Damon, with his sarcasm, would tell Meredith something that he never intended her to obey. When she did, he would look at her in astonishment. Elena and Meredith would catch what had happened and laugh it off as a joke. Elena wondered whether Damon actually knew or not, but if he did, he had the good sense to pretend that he didn't. As far as Damon was concerned, Meredith was such a joy and comfort as a friend to Elena that he would never do anything to risk her leaving.

Elena thought briefly about Caroline. They had not been in contact with each other for years. In spite of Bonnie's warning, Caroline could not restrain herself from voicing disparaging remarks about Elena's choice of Damon over Stefan. It wasn't that Elena felt any need to defend Damon, it was that she felt so disrespected by the presumption that Caroline knew better than her who she was supposed to love. It had reached a head when the twins were less than three and Caroline made some comment about it being too bad that Stefan wasn't the father. This was more than Elena was going to tolerate. She calmly walked over to Caroline, slapped her vigorously across the face, took the children, and left. After relating what had happened to Damon, he persuaded her to apologize, which she did, but from that point on, Elena simply had no desire to ever see Caroline again. Caroline had tried to make amends, but Elena's disinterest soon discouraged her. Elena smiled remembering overhearing Caroline complaining to Bonnie at the conclusion of her last attempt to achieve reconciliation.

"What's your secret, Bonnie? You disliked Damon as much as I do. You wanted to kill him several times. How did you get back in with Elena? And what is that vampire Meredith's secret anyway? They're like blood sisters or something. They're inseparable. I just don't get it."

"Care, Elena and I became close again because Damon and I reached a crucial understanding."

"Oh, and what was that?"

"Two things, we understood that both of us wanted Elena to be happy more than anything else and we both understood that Damon was essential to Elena's happiness."

"What about Meredith?"

"Well, Elena and Meredith reached a crucial understanding almost the moment they met. They also understood two things. One, that they both wanted Damon to be happy more than anything else and both understood that Elena was essential to Damon's happiness."

Caroline frowned. "I just don't understand you. It's like Elena and Damon are the center of the world."

"You know, Caroline, in a way, they are."

Elena shook her head, sometimes Bonnie tended to be a bit overdramatic. They would be over for Christmas tomorrow. It will be a fun time. It's always funny to see Jeremy and Damon in competition for who can play the best Santa Claus.

She glanced at her watch. Damon would be home soon. He had gone to New York to meet with Pal. Ever since that meeting the night before Jeremy's graduation, Damon, Pal and herself had begun preparations for legitimizing the vampire community. They were proceeding slowly and carefully. Twice now Pal had identified possible revelations of the existence of vampires and their abilities. Both times Elena had compelled the potential sources to forget their knowledge. The effect of the revelations would not have changed anything by themselves, but continued reports like that would begin to establish credibility. It was better to prevent any release of information that demonstrated the existence of vampires was not a myth.

Pal and Damon had made several moves on a few organized crime organizations, a couple here in the US, a couple in Asia and one in Europe. They were studying how to break through into the Middle East. Elena insisted upon her and Pal's associate Anne-Marie being involved with the final review of any plan they formulated. Damon and Pal respected their judgment completely. If either voiced objections to a plan it was shelved. So far she and Anne-Marie had been in complete agreement every time a plan was turned down. Although each time it was for different reasons, nevertheless, the result was the same. When Pal accused the two of them of collusion in advance, they just laughed.

A byproduct of their success was that she and Damon were becoming very wealthy. They didn't spend much on themselves. An extravagant life style was contrary to their best interests. Having a lot of money solved one necessity. Damon was able to purchase the Fell's Church property and surrounding grounds. Bonnie had been adamant that it was essential he establish control of that property. The spell that had transformed them was bound to that land. They and their descendants would have to return there when the time came to begin a new cycle.

Raising children was difficult enough, raising twins was even more so, raising them while their parents remained eternally young presented their own challenges. With their human neighbors and friends the resolution was fairly easy. Elena simply compelled them to believe that Meredith, Damon and herself looked the age they were expected to be. However, when dealing with people she randomly came into contact with, she was never able to find a solution that satisfied. Without the children there rarely was a problem, people simply accepted her as she appeared, an attractive 19 year old. With the children, she had a marker of her actual age that contradicted what others considered normal.

She could project an image of herself that matched her true age. Knowing Katherine was helpful because Katherine served as a model of how she was supposed to look. The problem with this was she had to keep the image in her mind continuously. A moment's distraction and people would see her has she was, not how she was supposed to be. Damon told her that sometimes, as she tried to concentrate when the kids were acting up, there was a flicker affect that was disconcerting, like they were seeing a holographic image rather than a flesh and blood person.

Using makeup was the most reliable and she had developed considerable skill in the subtleties of altering her appearance however she wished. She had taken to doing this for herself and Damon whenever they went hunting or performing some of the other tasks that Pal had asked of them. But on a day-to-day basis, it was very tedious. After a while Elena decided to give it up. People may be baffled, or may jump to grossly false conclusions but generally that would be the end of it. If someone decided to make trouble, then Elena could sense it and then she'd deal with the problem using compulsion.

The one option that Elena vigorously resisted was to pretend she was anything other than their mother. Anytime Damon, Meredith or anyone else suggested she say she was the sister, or cousin or neighbor or any relation other than mother to her children she would firmly and coldly dismiss the suggestion. However, an event occurred when the children were sixteen that forced Elena to relent from her position.

She had been in the kitchen preparing dinner when Little Damon came storming into the housing, slammed the door closed, and threw his books on the kitchen counter before running upstairs to his bedroom, never saying hello or acknowledging his mother was even there. Elena considered this behavior completely unacceptable and dropped what she was doing and followed him to his room.

"Little Damon, what do you have to say for yourself. You know better than to act that way. Give me a hug hello and tell me what is troubling you."

"Mom, must you call me Little Damon? I like to be called Dee. Why can't you respect that?"

"I will call you what I like, young man, because I am your mother, and because I am your mother, you will greet me when you come home. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes ma'am," Damon muttered.

Elena stood there with her arms crossed waiting.

Reluctantly, he got up from his bed and went to her and gave her a quick hug. "Hello Mama."

Elena hugged him quickly in return. "Now, tell me what is wrong."

"Susan broke up with me."

"I see, do you know why?"

"It's not important."

"Do you know why?" repeated Elena, placing more emphasis on the question.

"She thinks I have another girl friend."

"Why would she think that? You don't do you?"

"Mom, of course not. She's just being stupid, that's all."

Elena sighed. Did this really have to be so hard? Sometimes, he was just like his father. "I'll make a deal with you. I'll call you Dee on your birthday if you tell me what's going on without this interrogation."

"She saw us at the mall last night."

"I don't understand, who did she see at the mall?"

"Us, Mom, you and me. She saw us and thought you were my girlfriend. Apparently, we were laughing or something, you gave me a hug, ruffled my hair, stupid stuff like that. She thinks you're my girlfriend and she broke up with me."

"I see, what did you tell her?"

"What could I tell her? That my Mom is this hot girl who looks like a teenager? Once I understood what she was mad about, I couldn't think of what to say."

"What if you call her and tell her I am a cousin from Virginia, here for a visit?"

"Mom, it's too late for that. She'd never believe it. Besides, you hate it when we pretend you're not our mother."

All of a sudden Elena realized the problems her pride was causing for her children. She resolved to do what she could to fix it. "We'll have to change that won't we? I tell you what, invite all your friends over for New Year's Eve for a party. You and Jenna can introduce me to all your friends as your cousin from Virginia. Maybe you can get Susan to come. I'll make a point not to act like a mother. From now on if anyone sees us together I'll either have made myself up to look older or I'll pretend to be your cousin. Do you think that will work? "

Damon Jr. looked at her doubtfully. "Are you sure Mama? Jenna and I don't mind really that you look more like our sister. It's kind of cool actually. I'm real proud to have you as my Mom, you know that."

Elena gave him a hug, "I'm proud you're my son. I should have started doing this a long time ago."

Little Damon hugged her back. "Mama, it's okay to call me Little Damon if no one but Dad and Jenna are around to hear."

Elena laughed and ruffled his hair, "It's a deal, Dee."

5


	29. Jenna's Boyfriend

**Jenna's Boyfriend**

It was the day before the twins 21st birthday. They were having a family dinner to celebrate tonight and then tomorrow, Jenna and Little Damon would have their friends over for a party. Jenna, Damon, and Elena were working together in the kitchen getting the lasagna ready for supper. By the way Jenna kept chattering, Elena was aware that she was tense and excited that the evening would go well. Her boyfriend, Jake, was coming over for dinner to meet the family. From everything Jenna and Little Damon had said, Jake seemed like a nice boy. Damon and Elena were looking forward to meeting him and were impressed that he was interested in meeting them. Jenna was starting her senior year at Boston College and had met Jake there. Elena wasn't sure, but thought Jake was finishing his Masters this coming year.

"Sweetheart, what is Jake's major?"

"Mama, really, I've told you twice already, he's majoring in Criminal Psychology. He's already been accepted at Duke University for his PhD."

"That's right. He must be very clever."

"I think he is. I'm sure you and Dad are really going to like him. Please try."

Elena gave Jenna a kiss on the cheek. "We'll like him, I'm sure. I hope he likes us."

"He better," laughed Jenna.

Just then, they heard the door open and heard Katherine call out. "Hello everybody. There's a rumor going around that you're serving the Damon Salvatore classic lasagna. If that's true then I'm staying for supper."

"Aunt Katherine!" Jenna called out. "Thanks for coming!" Jenna ran out to the foyer and gave her aunt a hug.

Little Damon and his dad came up behind Elena. "Hey Katherine," said Damon, giving her a quick hug.

"Hi Aunt Katherine!" said Little Damon.

"Are the kids coming?" Elena asked.

"No, I left them at home. Elijah is in town and agreed to hang out with them."

"Elijah is back?" Elena queried surprised. "He was there only a couple of weeks ago."

Katherine laughed. "Yes, it's getting so he can't stand to be away for long. It seems the older I get, the more attentive he becomes. I imagine by the time I'm 60 he'll actually ask me to marry him."

"So, if he ever asks, will you say yes?"

Katherine shook her head. "He'll never ask, and no, I wouldn't say yes. We're in a good place the way things are. He knows that as well as I. I have everything I want, two wonderful children and I know that he loves me as much as he can."

"How's your book coming?" asked Damon. Katherine was writing about the domestic life of Napoleon Bonaparte, his wife and all the intrigues that went on. Since she had been Josephine's personal friend at the time, she was able to supply unique insights to what was known.

"I'm going through the final proofs. My publisher is extremely excited. He actually believes the book is going to break out of being an academic work and actually hit the NY Times Best sellers list."

Meredith, Bonnie and Jeremy all arrived together at that moment. Meredith let them all in, calling out to everyone they were here. Little Damon and Jenna went around to each and gave them a hug. The house was a bedlam of conversation as everyone was talking at the same time, when they were interrupted by the doorbell.

"That's Jake," exclaimed Jenna. I'll go let him in.

Elena interrupted, "No, I'll answer the door Jenna. You stay here and visit with your aunts and uncles."

A look of consternation passed quickly over Jenna's face. She desperately gestured for her brother to follow her mother to the door but couldn't get his attention. However, both Meredith and Katherine noticed. They exchanged puzzled looks with each other and followed Elena to the door.

Elena went to the door and opened it. She smiled and held out her hand to the young man at the door. "Hello, you must be Jake. I'm Jenna's mom, but please do not call me Mrs. Salvatore. Call me Elena."

Jake shook hands automatically, but was obviously startled when he saw Elena and then saw Katherine come up behind her. Elena smoothly explained, "I know, it's startling isn't it? Katherine is my aunt. None of us have ever looked our age."

"Jenna never told me you two could pass as sisters, even twins, and if it wasn't for the age difference between you and Katherine, I would say you were triplets. She never told me how much she favored her mother."

Elena smiled in response. "It has caused confusion at times. This is Meredith, a very close friend."

Elena turned to go inside the house. From long habit, she had indicated to Jake through her body language that he was welcome without actually inviting him in. All the family had disciplined themselves to avoid specifically inviting anyone into the house. When she saw that he hadn't moved, but instead glanced apprehensively at the doorway, she knew what he was immediately. It normally took a lot to make Elena angry, but when it came to protecting her children her anger could be quick and deadly.

Maliciously she went inside leaving Jake stranded at the front door. Katherine shrugged helplessly, "I'm afraid it won't do you any good if I invite you in," she explained to Jake.

Jake was nonplussed at the apparent awareness Katherine had about vampires and at being stranded at the front door. He looked to Meredith for assistance. Dismayed, she shrugged, "This isn't my house either." They both waited to see what would happen next.

Jake was at a loss of what to do. "Isn't Jenna around?" He asked hoping to have someone help him out of this awkward situation. Then, speaking to Katherine and Meredith he observed, "You seem to understand more than I expected."

"Apparently, you don't know very much about us," drawled Meredith as she turned to follow Elena into the living room.

Jake nodded grimly. As she also followed Elena into the house, Katherine chuckled a little. This was going to be a very interesting dinner.

"Where's Jake?" asked Jenna when she saw Meredith come in.

"If he's still here, he's still at the front door," Elena interrupted tersely.

"Didn't you invite him in?"

"Does he need an invitation?" responded Elena, emphasizing the word 'need'.

"Honestly, Mama. He's our guest. Of course he needs to be invited in." Jenna babbled as she rushed out to the front door and gave Jake a hug. "Jake, what in the world are you doing out here? Come inside."

By this time Elena was seething in rage. Jenna knows what he is. She's been hiding this from us.

"Jenna's been keeping secrets," Katherine whispered to Meredith. "Jake doesn't know anything about us either."

"Little Damon," Elena called out. "Little Damon, come here."

"Mama, you promised! Will you just call me Dee, please, especially with Jake here. Do you have any idea how embarrassing Little Damon is?"

Elena was in no mood to address her son's nickname. She took him aside and spoke to him privately. "Something has come up involving your sister. Fix yourself a plate and take it to your bedroom. You're eating there."

"Why? This is our birthday. You can't just send me to my room. Are you kidding me?"

"Do as I told you, Damon," Elena ordered, compelling him to obey. She had not compelled either of her children since they were little. This was the first time in years.

Little Damon was aware that he had been compelled. Angry at the betrayal he blurted out, "This is because Jake is a vampire, isn't it?" As soon as he blurted it out, he knew he had blundered.

Still compelling him, Elena asked quietly, "How long have you known?"

"A couple of months, Jenna told me."

"Who else knows?"

"Just me, honest."

"Go to your room now. Stay there. Do not come downstairs until I specifically say you can."

Little Damon nodded, not having any choice, and took his food and went upstairs.

"That was pretty harsh," Katherine advised.

Elena turned to Katherine, compelling her as well. "Did you know?" she asked.

"No I didn't know! Be careful Elena, I know you're pissed. Don't make any mistakes you'll regret later. You've already compelled your son now me, your breaking promises you had made a long time ago."

"Katherine, this involves my children. I'll do whatever I have to in order to protect them. If you think that you need to take sides on this, you better be on my side!" Elena then called out to everyone with fake cheerfulness, "Everybody come to the table, dinner is ready."

As they were sitting down, Jenna noticed Little Damon wasn't around. "Where's Dee?"

"He won't be eating with us after all," was all the information that Elena would supply. "Oh, Jake, let me take your plate. I have something especially for you," Elena grabbed his plate and walked back into the kitchen. Damon got up as well to follow her.

"What's going on Elena? What's wrong?"

"He's a vampire," Elena spit out in anger. "Jenna has brought home a vampire. She's known for several months and hasn't said anything." Elena went to a small refrigerator in the pantry and pulled out a blood bag. Then she spotted a long wooden spoon and grabbed it as well.

"What are you going to do?" asked Damon.

Elena smiled viciously to her husband. "I'm going to serve our guest something more appropriate and then I'm going to give him this," she held up the spoon as if it were a weapon. Then she went back into the dining room.

"Elena! Elena!" Damon called after her, without any result.

Elena slammed the plate with the blood bag down in front of Jake.

"There you are, vampire, bon appétit." As Damon was coming to intervene he had to pause and admire her. She stood in front of Jake, a beautiful 19 year old vampire herself, angry enough to spit nails, she looked magnificent.

Jake stood up and stepped away from the table in shock. He had not bargained for this at all.

"What's the matter, vampire? Surprised? Jenna hasn't told you much about her family has she? Here, I have another surprise for you," Elena tossed him the spoon and Jake caught it involuntarily, "take this spoon and stab yourself through the heart with it." As he stared at the spoon in confusion, Elena gathered all her emotion and ability to compel and forced it into two simple words, "Do It!"

"Jake no!" cried Jenna as she threw her body around him to stop him from stabbing himself with the handle of the spoon. He easily threw her off of him and tried again to obey Elena's command. However, this gave Damon and Meredith the opportunity to intervene, Meredith snatched the spoon out of Jake's hand and Damon held him imprisoned against the chair.

"Elena, you have to stop this!" cried Meredith and Damon together.

"She's our daughter, Damon. I didn't bring her into this world to be used by this." She gestured towards Jake in contempt.

This had given Katherine enough time to come to Elena's side. She placed her hand on Elena's shoulder and said firmly, "Don't make the same sort of mistake I would make, Elena. We're alike with things like this. I know what I would do and that is what you are doing. Don't do this, please."

The words pierced through Elena's rage, and she relented slightly. "Okay, vampire, don't stab yourself yet." As Jake relaxed his struggle with Damon, Elena followed with another command. "I am going to ask you some questions. You will tell the truth, you will not evade." Then turning to Jenna she also compelled her, "That goes for you too, Jenna."

Elena asked Jake, "Have you been drinking her blood?"

Jake nodded, "Only once. That was how we met." Jenna gasped in surprise and reflexively brought her hand up to her neck.

"You didn't know?" she asked Jenna. Jenna shook her head.

"How old are you, vampire?"

"I am 83 years old, vampire." Jake responded rebelliously.

"You're life means nothing to me. I'd be careful," Elena replied.

"It means something to Jenna," Jake replied.

"I can fix that."

"Mama, you wouldn't do that," protested Jenna.

"I'll do what I think is necessary," Elena snapped.

"Elena, you won't do that. If you value your family, there are things that you will not do. You're on an edge right now. You need to step back." Damon ordered.

Elena remembered Katherine's warning and took a deep breath. "When was the last time you took a life, Jake?" her tone was a little gentler this time, conceding the use of his name.

"A few years ago," he replied.

"Precisely, Jake, when was it?"

"Four years ago."

"Before then?"

"Often, I can't say exactly."

"Why'd you stop?"

"She was a friend. I lost control and couldn't bring her back."

"Was she your lover?"

"Yes."

"Jenna, when did you realize Jake was a vampire?"

"After a few weeks, I figured it out."

"How long did you see him before you told him, you knew."

"I never told him, he told me."

"When was that?"

"We had been dating about 3 months."

"Did you tell him you already knew?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"If I told him that, then he would want to know how I figured it out and that would lead back to you. That isn't something that was my place to tell."

"Why didn't you tell us about Jake?"

"The same reason, I knew secrets about you, and I knew secrets about Jake. I was hoping to begin getting it all straightened out tonight. I guess that has been accomplished, although I had hoped it would have gone better."

Elena was beginning to regret her rage and the actions she had taken. She realized she had reacted without fully understanding the circumstances. Jake had not done anything that Damon and Stefan hadn't done. Jenna hadn't done anything that she herself hadn't done. Jenna had been caught in the middle of a web of secrets. She spoke to Jenna and Jake, "I've overreacted and abused the powers I have. I hope you can forgive me."

"Elena, there are certain areas of your life where you act first, think later. This is one of them," replied Damon. "Fortunately, nothing has happened here that can't be fixed, right Jenna, Jake?" he asked challenging them.

Jenna nodded and went to hug her mother. "You really frightened me Mama. I didn't know you could be so terrible."

Elena hugged her back. "There is much you don't know about me, darling. Jenna, you don't know what you are opening yourself up for, falling for a vampire. This isn't what I wanted for you. I didn't raise you for this life."

"Yes you have, Mama. You did it by being the most wonderful mother a daughter could want. It's what I want for myself, Mama. I love Jake, and I want to be like you. I've always thought you were wonderful. I want to do what you do. Even if I can't be just like you, even though I won't have children like you have, I can still do what you do."

Elena was flummoxed. "What do you think I do, Jenna?"

"You protect the weak from evil men, Mama. Dee and I have known this for several years. You and Dad have been our heroes for some time."

"How did you know this? Damon, were you aware they knew this?"

Damon was equally surprised and shook his head. "No, I didn't know, but, Elena, why should we be surprised? They're not idiots. And the way Jenna and Dee collaborate, we've had to fool two heads, not just one."

Jake had been observing all this with growing astonishment. "Excuse me, but what has been happening? Mrs. Salvatore, what are you? You almost compelled me to kill myself, you can pick the truth out of me at will. You're a vampire, but have had children? I thought I knew who all the Originals are, but you must be one. But I didn't know an Original could have children."

Damon grinned and slapped Jake on the back. "Jake my friend, you've been dating the daughter of the most powerful vampire in the world, only nobody but me has known it, until now. Elena is most definitely an original."

"Damon, really," Elena protested. "Jenna, don't take your father too seriously. I have unusual abilities, granted. But I'm not involving myself in some foolish competition of who is more powerful than whom." Then, speaking aloud to herself, Elena muttered, "So, we need to undo this mess that I have created. Let's see. Jenna, I'm afraid there are some things that Jake is going to have to forget. I have to decide what to do about you."

"I don't understand, what do you mean?" replied Jenna.

Elena sighed. "Well dear, Jake knows far more about our family than I can allow at this time. I simply don't know him well enough for him to leave here knowing what I can do."

"He doesn't know the half of it," muttered Damon.

Elena gave Damon a warning look. "Don't complicate things Damon."

"What are you worried about, Elena. You're going to erase his memory anyway."

"Mama you can't!" cried Jenna.

"Hush, Jenna. It's necessary. I'm only going to erase what has happened so far this eveining. I'm not going to wipe you out of his memory. Then we're going to enjoy our time together and I'll behave myself much better. I promise." Then remembering all the other guests who had been to stunned with all the drama to react, Elena apologized, "I am so sorry for this. You are all dear friends, can I trust you to keep this unfortunate scene a secret for the time being?"

Meredith spoke up, "Of course, Elena. For the time being in any case. I suspect that Jake will be accepted in the family soon and secrets will no longer be necessary."

"Don't I get anything to say about this?" challenged Jake.

Damon came over behind and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Nope, did you have anything to say about still being alive?"

"What about me? Are you going to erase my memory?" asked Jenna.

"No honey, I'm going to trust you." Elena then gave a stern look of warning to Damon. "That's why it's important we don't have any more discussions about what I can and can't do."

She turned to Jake, again using compulsion, she explained, "Jake, you are going to go home now and Jenna is going home with you. Jenna went to your place and told you that I sent her over to tell you that dinner was being delayed for an hour." Jake nodded his head. "You will not remember anything about this night, absolutely nothing."

Speaking normally, Elena turned to Jenna. "Jenna, while you are spending time with Jake tonight, I want you to explain to him that you're mother and father are vampires. That I gave birth to you and Dee and then we were turned soon after."

"But why can't we just tell him the truth?" Jenna asked.

Damon interrupted, "Jenna, we've kept our family out of the various power struggles that vampires tend to involve themselves in by keeping secret how powerful your mother is. Just because you've fallen for Jake doesn't automatically earn him our complete trust. When we get to know him better, we'll allow him to know more about us. You'll need to be patient. Now, be a good girl, take Jake home and do as your mother says." Jenna nodded her agreement, and she and Jake started to leave together.

After they left, Meredith went to Elena and hugger her. "I'm proud of you. You went right up to the edge and then stepped away. Not many could have done that."

Elena acknowledged the compliment ruefully, " I wouldn't have been able regain control of myself if it hadn't been for you, Katherine, and Damon." Elena shuddered. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd have forced him to kill himself right there in front of Jenna. I'd have been forced to compel her to forget, probably Little Damon as well, and I would have changed my family into nothing more than puppets."

"That's been the difference between your life and mine, Elena," replied Katherine. "You have always relied on others, and I never have, at least not until I became human. You have had friends to be there for you, and I haven't. I'm glad we're friends now. Well Elena, Damon, I guess the exciting stuff is over. I'm going to catch a flight home to my family and maybe, Elijah will get lucky tonight. Ta Ta." Katherine left chuckling.

When Katherine left, Elena began to feel the backlash of the intense emotions she had felt. As usual when she was stressed emotionally, she turned to Damon. She wrapped her arms around Damon's neck. "You know," she sighed, "I've compelled Little Damon to his room. I guess I need to go up and apologize."

"Yeah, you're not supposed to do that you know. Are you going to let him out?"

"Of course, why don't you fix everyone a drink until Jenna and Jake return. I'll keep the lasagna warm."

Jenna and Jake returned soon, Jake was apprehensive having learned that the lovely college girl he had fallen in love with had been raised by vampires and had a witch for an aunt. Other than that, the dinner went well. Dee, who blamed Jenna for being banished to his room, was enjoying himself taking his revenge by increasing Jakes discomfort with various remarks about his vampire family. Inevitably, he went too far when he asked Jenna, "So, Jenna, when is Jake going to turn you?"

It was like a switch was thrown, the conversation around the table ceased abruptly.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," stuttered Jake. "I don't intend to turn Jenna."

"Dee," Elena spoke sharply, "Do you want to be sent to your room again?"

"No ma'am," he replied contritely, hiding a grin as Jenna glared at him.

Calmly, Elena spoke to Jake, "I apologize for my son's rudeness. He should know better, that some topics are personal and private."

Jenn found it extremely interesting that her mom had not actually rejected the subject of her becoming a vampire. All in all, Jenna thought to herself, the evening had turned out to be major success.

Soon after desert and drinks, Meredith, Bonnie and Jeremy made their excuses and went home. Damon Jr. went up to his room and Jenna and Jake left to walk along the shore.

"That was certainly an exciting evening," drawled Damon. "I'm surprised everybody left so early, that was a little unusual." Damon noticed Elena smiling mischievously. "Elena, don't tell me you secretly encouraged them to leave."

"Why, I've already been a bad girl. How does the saying go? 'In for a penny, in for a pound? After all, we're alone and it's still early." As she spoke one hand began to drift down Damon's front and starting undoing his buttons."

Damon slid his hands up under her blouse to undo her bra. "Shall we take this upstairs to the bedroom?"

"Hmmm, yes lets," Elena replied pulling his head down for a kiss. Unfortunately they didn't make it to the bedroom. They didn't make it to the stairs up to the bedroom. They didn't even make it out of the dining room. They took their time, enjoying each minute and each inch of each other. After a while, they simply lay still whispering their thoughts and feelings together, when Jenna's returning home interrupted them.

"Hello," Jenna called out, "I'm back, everyone. Jake's already left." Jenna noticed her parents naked on the floor. "Oh – My – God, Mama, Dad, you're disgusting! Normal people use the bedroom for crying out loud!" Jenna ran up the stairs trying not to look at her Mom and Dad. "I swear, am I the only adult in this house?" and she slammed her bedroom door closed.

Mortified, Elena buried her face in Damon's chest. The only thing he could think to say was "Oops, guess we lost track of time."


	30. Jenna Makes Demands

6/17/2015

 **Jenna Makes Demands**

It was a warm September afternoon. The nippy fall nights were causing the ocean water temperature to become uncomfortably cool which, combined with the fall color of the mountains thinned out the tourists. Elena was napping as she lay out on the beach enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun on her body. No matter how long she laid there, she wouldn't burn let alone tan, but she could still enjoy the soothing effect of the heat of the day on her body. Truth be told, she also liked the way men looked at her in her bikini as they walked by.

Unfortunately, her mood of placid contentment was disturbed when she sensed her daughter's agitation as she stormed over to her. "Mama, I want you to stop trying to control my life!" was Jenna's abrupt beginning.

Elena sighed, ever since Jake had come to dinner, Jenna had become annoyingly dramatic. "Jenna, what on earth are you fussing about? How am I controlling your life, for goodness sake?"

"Every time I turn around, my family and friends are asking me 'What does your Mother say?', 'I'll have to ask your Mother', or any one of a hundred ways of telling me I can't do anything unless you say it is okay." retorted Jenna.

Elena remained as she was, with her eyes closed, determined not to let Jenna ruin her carefully cultivated peaceful mood. "Jenna, you're not making any sense. To hear you tell, I should be plagued with questions night and day asking my permission on every little detail of your life. What exactly is it that requires my permission that has you so annoyed?"

"I want to give Jake a day ring, but Aunt Bonnie won't do it unless you specifically ask her too. I don't think that's fair at all."

Shielding her eyes with her hand, Elena opened them to gaze at her daughter. "Jenna, your Aunt Bonnie is a powerful and influential witch in her own right. She's not some shop keeper who sits around waiting to stamp out trinkets for any young girl who happens to want something for her boyfriend. A day ring is an extremely valuable article coveted by vampires around the world. Of course, she's not going to produce one at the whim of some 21 year old girl, even if the girl is her niece. I doubt she would automatically do so at my request either. She simply told you to come to me knowing that I would be able to set you straight."

"So, you're not going to ask her to make one for Jake, are you?"

Elena put her hand back down and closed her eyes. "No, I'm not."

"Why not? You don't like him, do you!"

Again, Elena sighed. "Jenna, you realize that annoying me is not a very effective way to get something you want. I don't dislike Jake at all. I don't know Jake."

"Well, what will it take for you to know him?"

"Time, Jenna, it takes time."

"Will you get Aunt Bonnie to make a day ring for me when I am turned?"

Realizing that recovering her earlier mood was a lost cause, Elena began packing up her things. "If you are turned. We will cross that bridge if and when we come to it."

"Jake can turn me any time he wants." Jenna exclaimed defiantly.

Coldly Elena turned and faced her daughter. "Jake can die any time I want, and he knows it."

Jenna gasped as if she had just been slapped. "Mama you wouldn't. I don't believe you."

"Jenna, you don't know me very well if you think I would hesitate a second when it comes to anything that involves my family. Jake understands that, he understands it very well and it is time that you begin to understand it. If you want to live in your father's and my world, there are harsh realities you need to get used to and one of those is life can be very, very cheap." Now completely annoyed and out of sorts, Elena finished getting her things together and walked back to the house. How was it that her daughter, who used to be so sweet and such a pleasure to have around, could turn into such a pain in the ass?

To Elena's continued annoyance, apparently Jenna wasn't finished. "Jake wants me to ask if he can come over this evening."

Elena stopped and examined her daughter. "That is just silly. You don't have to have my permission to invite any of your friends over. You know that. Since when does Jake think he has to have my specific permission?"

"He wants to talk with you and Dad about something important."

"And he thinks he needs our permission? I assume this pertains to the two of you."

"I'm not saying anything more. You have to wait and talk to Jake," replied Jenna stubbornly.

Elena rolled her eyes in aggravation. "Fine," she snapped. "Tell him he has our permission to talk with us about anything he likes. If I don't like what he has to say, I'll get your Aunt Bonnie to turn him into a toad or something. She'll do it for me because I don't think she likes Jake." She turned back towards the house.

"Ha Ha, very funny," retorted Jenna.

Elena paused and turned one last time, acting like she was surprised. "Was that funny? I meant it to be threatening. Have Jake come over after 8, when it's dark, since he's not likely to ever get a day ring."

That evening, Elena and Damon were relaxing on the porch gazing at the ocean and moon's reflection across the water. Damon was drinking his normal whiskey, Elena, a glass of chardonnay. She had considered something stronger but wanted to help mellow her mood, hoping to avoid a repeat of the afternoon's conversation. It was exactly 8 when they heard Jenna come into the house calling out to them that she and Jake were there.

"Come on out to the porch," Damon called. He glanced at Elena and quirked his eyebrows, as if to say 'brace yourself'.

Jenna came out first, "Hello, Daddy," then she stooped and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and murmured contritely, "I'm sorry I was so obnoxious this afternoon, Mama."

Elena patted her on the shoulder, "That's alright dear. I need to learn to be more patient." Cynically, Elena wondered if Jenna was really sorry or if Jake had coaxed her into apologizing.

Jenna sat down to the side of them as Jake came out on the porch. "Hello Mrs. Salvatore, Mr. Salvatore," Jake stated formally.

"Hello Jake, care for a drink?" responded Damon.

"No sir, not right now, thank you."

"So, Jake, what's on your mind?" asked Damon.

Nervously, Jake began, "I know that the first time we met, things got really dramatic. Although I don't suppose I'll ever know what actually happened?" The last statement was directed at Elena.

Elena sat looking into her glass of wine, with a cryptic smile on her face and said, "No Jake, when I make a vampire forget something, it stays forgotten."

The smug self-satisfied confidence with which Elena had responded annoyed Jake and caused him to deviate from his prepared speech. "You know, Mrs. Salvatore, you appear to be this friendly, warm loving woman who wouldn't hurt a fly, but underneath it all, you can be a real bitch."

"Jake!" Jenna gasped in alarm.

Damon let out a snort of laughter but then tried to cover it up with a coughing fit.

Elena didn't react at all, continuing to gaze into her glass of wine. "I've always thought you were a clever lad, Jake."

"I'm older that you are, Mrs. Salvatore."

Elena glanced at Jake, "You're dating my daughter, that makes you a lad in my book."

Jake paced back and forth and ran his hand through his hair. This wasn't going the way he had it planned.

"Sure you don't want a drink?" drawled Damon.

"As a matter of fact, yes sir, I do want a drink. I'll have what you're having." Back to Elena, Jake tried to explain, "You see Mrs. Salvatore, Jenna and I are doing more than just dating."

Damon stopped in his tracks and stared at Jake, not believing what he was hearing. "Jake," exclaimed Jenna again. Then to her mother, Jenna explained, "That's not what he meant. We're not sleeping together."

"No, no," exclaimed Jake. "I didn't mean that at all. What I mean is, Jenna and I feel about each other in a way that goes beyond just dating. We love each other and want to spend our lives together. Well, that brings us to the point. As things stand right now, Jenna's life and my life are two completely different things.

Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore, you know as well as I do that a human and a vampire doesn't stay together that way indefinitely. They either break up after a few years or the human is turned. That's why I want to talk to you two. I need to know your feelings about Jenna becoming a vampire, not immediately of course, but ultimately. If you're against it, then Jenna and I should go ahead and break up now. The longer we wait the worse it will be."

"Let me get this straight," said Damon. "If we're against Jenna being turned, that's the end of it. You'll respect our wishes?"

"Yes sir, you two are very important to her. I love her too much to be a part of creating a division between you."

Elena understood now Jenna's agitation this afternoon. It wasn't about the day ring at all. It was about Jake placing their relationship in Damon's and her hands. "Jake, you're right about one thing and you're a fool with the other. You're correct when you say a relationship between a human and a vampire can go only one way or the other. You're a fool to tell Jenna that it is up to us to determine her happiness. I have no wish to decide what will make Jenna happy, do you Damon?"

"Hell no," laughed Damon.

"If I wanted to do that, I'd just compel her to be happy all the time, but I love her too much to ever do anything like that. It has always been Jenna's decision. She just needs to be sure she understands what she's agreeing to. My mother chose to be a vampire after I was born and regretted her choice to the point of suicide." Elena thought for a minute and then on impulse made a sudden decision. "Damon, next time we go hunting, Jenna needs to come with us."

Nervously Jenna protested, "Mama, I've seen Jake feed before. I … I've let Jake drink my blood."

Firmly Elena shook her head. "Jenna, you need to see it all. We'll be going this weekend. You're coming with us."

4


	31. Jake & Jenna's Education

**Jake & Jenna's Education**

Damon called Jenna Thursday evening. "Hi Jenna, we're going to Buffalo. They have a nut that is slicing up prostitutes. If we're lucky, Elena will be able to flush him out. It's an eight-hour drive, that's on the edge of driving distance, so we're going to fly this time. Come over to the house tomorrow night and we'll explain the drill."

"How long will we be gone?"

"We'll leave Saturday morning and come back Sunday. Flights out of Buffalo are limited so there's no way of getting back the same day."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow. Uh, Dad?"

"Yes, Jenna."

"Is this really necessary? Why do I have to do this?"

"You're Mother thinks it's necessary, and I agree with her. You're thinking about a big step, Jenna. There's no going back. You need to really understand what it's all about. Look Jenna, most vampires never got to choose, it was something that happened to them. Your mother chose indirectly, but in reality, she never had a choice either. I chose, but for the wrong reasons, I'm just lucky it ended up well with me. If it wasn't for your mother it wouldn't have worked out for me either. For many, it never does. It hasn't really worked out for your Uncle Stefan. What I'm trying to say is, it's important for you to understand everything about it. That's all."

"I'm afraid, Daddy."

"There's nothing to be afraid of sweetheart. We'll make sure nothing happens to you."

"It's not that, it's hard to explain. It's you and Mama. I'm afraid things will change between us."

There was a moment's silence on the phone before Damon answered, "You're Mom's afraid to. This is a big thing she's doing for you."

"What about you, Dad?"

"Me, not so much. You'll understand more after."

When Damon explained all the travel details, Jenna was surprised at the extraordinary care they took to ensure no one could trace them. She had grown up using a different name from Salvatore, so it didn't surprise her when her Dad had papers prepared for her to travel under a different identity. It did surprise her that every leg of the trip required multiple identity changes, and a change of appearance as well. From leaving the house in Gloucester, to arriving in Boston, to arriving at the airport, the flight out, and travel in Buffalo, at every step, care was taken to ensure they couldn't be linked to the next step. When she commented on it and made a small crack about being paranoid, Damon replied, "We are breaking the law, Jenna. If Pal hasn't taught me anything else, he's taught me you can't be too careful."

While Damon had been explaining things to Jenna, Elena had remained unusually aloof as she remained by herself on the porch. She had hardly even said hello to Jenna. Curious, Jenna went out to talk to her.

"What's wrong Mama? You're very quiet. Are you sorry I'm coming along? I don't have to, you know."

Jenna gave her a forced smile, "No, this is important for you to see. The thing is, I'm very hungry right now and I have to prepare for the trip. We should have done this last week. You need to go inside. You're something of a distraction right now."

Feeling a little hurt, Jenna went inside. Her Dad had heard the exchange and was waiting to explain. "It's going to be a tough trip for your Mom. She's going to be trapped with people at the airport and on the plane for the next 3 hours. We've done it before, so she knows how to keep her hunger under control, but it's not going to be fun."

"What about you, Dad? Is it hard for you?"

Damon shook his head, "I never let myself get very hungry. I feed a little almost every day. Your mother, she doesn't have that option. She only feeds two or three times a month. She hasn't hunted for three weeks now. She's allowed herself to get more hungry than usual."

"Why am I a distraction?" Jenna knew the answer even as she asked it. She wished she hadn't asked.

Damon gave her an ironic look, "You're human, Jenna. There's a part of her that sees you as prey."

"I've allowed Jake to drink from me. Did he see me as prey?"

Damon shrugged and grimaced, "Between male and female, it gets a lot more complicated. I'll let you and Jake work that out, what you're feeling and what he's feeling. There are things a Dad doesn't want to talk about with his daughter."

Jenna blushed as she realized there was a sexual aspect to what she and Jake had done. At the time she had been merely curious and she wanted to show Jake how much she trusted him. Now she was beginning think there was more to it.

"What's it like, the hunger?"

Damon reflected a moment and then explained, "First, you have to understand, it's not about taking in calories or nutrients. It's spiritual and supernatural. Our bodies require the life the blood contains to replace the life our bodies have lost when we died. Jenna, you have to die to become a vampire, don't overlook that. So our hunger is our bodies demanding replacement of the lost life energy. Physically you feel out of sorts, nothing is right, everything is annoying, sounds, light, smells, they all irritate, you feel generally angry. Then, emotionally, you really want the blood. You anticipate its taste, how it energizes your body, the rush you feel as you drink it. When you've drunk, you feel like you can conquer the world, nothing can stop you. Once you've tasted blood as a vampire, you'll always want more."

Jenna shivered, "Is that the way it is with Mama?"

"That's the way it is with every vampire."

"How does she control it? I've never felt threatened growing up. I've never felt anything other than her love for me as her daughter. All this time she's wanted to drink my blood?"

Damon shook his head, "No, she has other things in her life that are bigger than her desire for blood. She makes sure she doesn't go too long without feeding so that the need doesn't get too strong. It's a matter of proportion. Her desire for blood is never allowed to become significant in comparison to her love of her family. At the very worse, she would separate herself from you to protect you."

"Is that what she's had to do now?"

Again Damon shook his head, "She's hungry but not that hungry. It's more that she has to prepare for the hunt. She has to have a lot of control when she takes her prey. She doesn't kill them outright. She provides them release, freedom from the darkness that holds them. You won't be able to see it because you're not a vampire, but I can. I can see the darkness separate at their death."

Elena came inside from the porch and interrupted them. "It's getting late, we need our rest." Damon and Jenna began getting their things ready for leaving early in the morning when Elena grabbed Jenna's hand, "I was listening to you and your Dad. Jenna, there was one time when I wanted blood so badly that I thought I couldn't control it. I learned then that I would take my own life before tasting a drop of your blood. There has never been a moment when blood was more important than you."

From Damon and Elena's point of view, the trip to Buffalo, the hunt, and the return were pretty routine. No noteworthy events happened. Damon always made sure of that, and with Jenna along, he made doubly sure. For Jenna, it was the most profoundly disturbing event of her young life. If Elena's intention had been to discourage Jenna from becoming a vampire, it had the opposite effect. It inspired her to want to follow in her mother's footstep. The greatest shock for Jenna was hearing the man's confession before Elena took his life. She knew evil existed, but nothing in Jenna's life prepared her for seeing and hearing evil face to face. Hearing his confession, his pride in the brutal murders of his victim, Jenna learned what being a monster really was. Watching Elena take his life, seeing his expression change from fear to peace, Jenna knew that what her mother did was good, but she felt that he wasn't getting what he deserved.

When they returned home, Elena and Jenna went walking together. "Mama, do you ever question what you're doing?"

"No, I know I save lives and suffering by doing this. The men I hunt would continue to ruin lives until they're stopped. If it were left to the authorities, with our laws and procedures, they would continue to make the victims suffer."

"I'm not talking about that, Mama, of course they need to be stopped. I mean, don't you ever think you're letting them off easy? The man you killed last night, he should have suffered the way he made all those other women suffer. Why should he die in peace when he wouldn't do the same for them?"

Elena was disappointed at first that Jenna didn't understand, but then remembered the long battle she had with Damon on this very issue. If Damon, with his history had difficulty understanding how unworthy they were to judge what someone deserved, how could Jenna, who was so innocent? Quietly Elena simply explained, "Jenna, if I was giving people what they deserved, I would have to take your father's life first, and mine next, and then where would we be?"

Jenna tried to comprehend what her mother was telling her, but couldn't. To equate her father and mother to the man she saw last night was almost obscene. Ultimately, Jenna just accepter her mother's way, there was another topic she wanted to explore. "Mama, why won't you tell me everything?"

"I'm not sure I understand you," evaded Elena.

"Yes you do. How is it possible that Dee and I are your children? Jake has told me a lot about vampirism. I know that what we have, what we are, is considered impossible by vampires. Then, there is the things you can do. Your ability to compel people to see, hear, and think what you want them to. Jake says that he doesn't believe even Originals can do all that you can do. I know that's why you and Dad work so hard to keep everything a secret. How is it possible you can do what you do? I know it is related to what you did last night, but I don't understand how. You say you want to be sure I understand the step I'm taking, how can I when you don't tell me everything?"

"How does Jake know anything about what I can do?" challenged Elena.

"Oh Mama, we're not stupid, none of us are. Dee, Jake, and I compare notes. We pick up things that you say, Dad says, Meredith, Aunt Bonnie, Uncle Jeremy, you all let things slip here and there. Honestly, Dee and I are tired of being the only ones in our family who doesn't know what's going on!"

They walked in silence for a while. Jenna wisely kept silent. She knew her mother, if she waited she would get what she wanted, if she pushed, her mother would clam up and put her off. It was extremely difficult to walk by her mother in silence. Finally, she couldn't continue doing nothing. She reached out and took her mother's hand in her own. She felt Elena squeeze gently, and then Elena said, "You're correct dear. You have a right to know, you're certainly ready. You're father calls it the oath of blood and passion. Your Uncle Jeremy and Pal simply call it the Blood Oath. It was when Damon and I took the oath that you and your brother were conceived. Seven years from now it will happen again and you and Little Damon will have a brother and sister.

Jenna listened to her mother in awe as she explained her life, what she had gone through and how she and Damon came to be the parents they were.

When they returned home, Jenna gave her mother a hug. "Thank you Mama, I'll never forget this day."

The next morning, Jake came by the house insisting he needed to talk to Damon.

"So, what's on your mind?" Damon asked.

"Since Jenna has returned from her trip with you, she's changed."

"It was only yesterday Jake, how has she changed?"

"She's excited about something, and she's told me that if we are to have a future together I need to get excited about it as well. I don't understand what is going on Damon. I don't understand what you and Elena are. What is this thing, Jenna is calling a Blood Oath?"

"Why is she excited, do you know?"

"Well, she says that you have found a way to have children. Is that true? She says that she and Dee were conceived and born after you and Elena became vampires, not before. That's not possible, but somehow she is convinced it is true."

"Is that the only reason she's excited?"

"No, she's excited about this cause of yours, to hunt down and kill the crazies in the world who hurt other people. I've known about that, and I've known that Jenna wants to do the same thing. I'm all for that, I admire it actually, to make being a vampire something good will be welcome. But she thinks there is a lot more to it now. I don't understand and Jenna wants you to explain it to me."

Damon took out his cell phone to dial Bonnie's number. "Jake, I'm afraid that I am not the one to answer your questions, at least not without being advised by Jenna's Aunt Bonnie." Jake heard Bonnie's voice answer the phone, "Bonnie, this is Damon. Listen, I have Jake here, Jenna's boyfriend. Elena has told Jenna everything and I think she wants to take the next step with Jake. I think you need to come over. I'm not sure what I should tell them and what I shouldn't." Damon listened for a moment and then responded, "Yeah, I'm sure they will. When can you get here?" Damon listened for a moment more and then finally said, "Okay, I'll see you and Jeremy tonight." Turning to Jake, Damon said, "I suggest you get Jenna to come over tonight. Bonnie, Jeremy, Elena and I will explain all that we can."

Jake was a little put out over being put off like that, but Damon was firm. When he informed Jenna of Damon's position he was a little surprised when she replied, "Of course, Aunt Bonnie has to be involved. I should have realized that myself."

"I wish I had a better idea of what's going on," he complained.

"I'm sorry Jake, I know this is frustrating. I appreciate how patient you've been."

When Jake and Jenna arrived back at the Salvatore home that evening they saw that Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Jeremy were already there. Jenna gave her aunt and uncle a hug when she saw them, "Thank you for coming over."

"No, Jenna, thank you for coming over. Jake, it's good to see you again." Replied Bonnie

Jake couldn't resist questioning her, "Are you really? I had heard that you didn't like me very much."

Bonnie looked questioningly at Elena who was blushing. "I'm sorry Bonnie, I guess I spoke carelessly trying to make a point. Jenna, I'm sorry, Bonnie has never said anything negative about Jake."

Bonnie shrugged, deciding to stay on topic, and not to pursue it. "Anyway, Jenna, Jake, you're not really ready to know much more than you already know now."

"I don't know anything," protested Jake.

"If Jenna becomes a vampire, if you partner with her, and if she follows after her mother then you will be ready to take the oath."

Bonnie then explained to Jake all that was involved with the oath, what the cost was and what was possible. She also explained that if Jenna and Jake took this path they would be following a path that was established for this very purpose by powers that they couldn't understand.

After Bonnie finished Jake simply told Jenna "I don't know what to make of all this. I just know that I love you. I've existed as a vampire without any purpose except survival. I don't want to live that way. Looking at your mom and dad, if this oath is part of that, then I'll take the oath when the time comes."

"Mama, Dad, I know what I want to do," spoke Jenna. "I want to be turned. I want to be a vampire like you. I want to be with Jake, forever."

Resignedly Elena answered, "Okay, Jenna, I believe you. Let's enjoy the evening with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Jeremy. Tomorrow, we'll talk about what to do next."

Jenna and Jake both stayed over that night. They slept together for the first time, not to make love, but to be together this last night, before Jenna was changed. They woke early the next morning, the first time that Jenna could ever remember beating her mother out of bed.

They sat together, talking quietly when Elena joined them. Without any preamble Elena immediately began discussing the topic uppermost in everyone's mind, "Jenna you need to understand, it must be Damon's blood that turns you, not Jake's. Jake, do you know from which Original your line is sired?" Jake shook his head no. Elena nodded, "It doesn't really matter, I suppose."

"Then why does it matter whose blood causes Jenna to turn?"

"First of all, since you and Jenna are already involved, there may be a complication with Jenna if your blood is used. I don't want to explain any further right now, trust me, it's better this way. Second, your life is linked to whichever Original is the original sire. Vampires sired by Damon do not have that link. I don't want Jenna's continued existence dependent on any Original."

Damon came out at that time. "I guess it's all decided. Have we thought about how we're going to do this?"

Elena interrupted, "I'm not going to be a part of this. I'm not going to sit around and talk about how we're going to kill my daughter. I'm going to take a walk. You can settle this yourselves." Elena abruptly grabbed her jacket and left. Damon, Jake, and Jenna all remained looking at each other. Suddenly, the full ramifications of what they had been talking about hit them. What had been accepted in the abstract became unacceptable in the reality. Jenna was going to have to die. Who was there that would do it?

Nobody could bring themselves to do anything. Jenna didn't know what to say, so she sat quietly as Damon and Jake tried to get the nerve to take the first step. A few hours later Elena returned. She walked into the house and saw the three of them sitting there. "What is going on? What has happened?"

Damon answered her, "Nothing is going on. I don't think anyone here can do it, Elena."

"Honestly, sometimes men can be useless." Elena complained. Angry and frustrated with both Damon and Jake, she went into the kitchen and got a knife. "Jenna, come here. Let me have your hand." Obediently, Jenna held out her hand and with the knife, Elena cut it. Jenna didn't flinch. Then Elena used her fangs and opened a vein in her wrist and held it out to Jenna and commanded "Drink." Again, obediently, Jenna placed her lips over the wound and gently sucked her mother's blood and swallowed. Elena carefully watched the wound in Jenna's hand. Within less than a minute, the wound healed. Then Elena placed her hands on both sides of Jenna's head and kissed her on her forehead. She whispered in Jenna's ear, "Last chance, dear. Are you sure?"

"Yes Mama, this is what I want. I want to be like you."

Elena could feel and hear Jenna's rapid pulse. Was she afraid? Did she really want this to happen? Elena looked deeply in Jenna's eyes. No, she wasn't afraid. She was nervous, apprehensive, excited, but she wasn't afraid. It was because Jenna trusted her. Elena questioned if she was about to betray that trust.

With tears in her eyes and her voice choking with emotion, Elena said, "Close your eyes, love.

The moment Jenna obediently closed her eyes, Elena snapped her neck and caught her lifeless body and laid it to rest on the couch.

Elena went to Damon and said, "I've killed my own baby, another crime that can be laid at my feet, Damon. When she wakes teach her. Teach her well. Don't fail me in this, teach her well. You did it with Meredith, you can do it for her."

Damon nodded, "You can count on me, Elena. I'll teach her well, I promise."

Elena took a final glance at Jenna and then left.

Damon did teach her well. Under his guidance, Jenna concluded that being a vampire was the coolest thing in the world. After all, nobody knew how to make being a vampire fun like Damon. After a few months, Elena and Damon taught Jenna and Jake how to hunt. The irony did not escape Elena. Damon taught Jenna how to feed without killing. It was Elena that taught Jenna how to kill.

Jenna had been a vampire for almost a year when she and Jake went to talk to Bonnie about taking the oath. Bonnie consulted with her ancestor, Emily Bennett and all were agreed. They set the date for the oath. They decided on the anniversary when Elena and Damon became originals. Eight months later, Elena and Damon became grandparents, six years later Jenna and Damon Jr. had a new brother and sister named Alaric and Rose, and a dynasty had begun.


	32. The Mystic Falls Convention

The Mystic Falls Convention

 **Copenhagen, Denmark – January 17, 2262**

"We're late," complained Damon. "They're all going to be there already, waiting for us."

"Oh be still," chided Elena gently. "You know Pal won't be there. He loves an entrance, he'll be later than we are, you'll see. I wanted to spend some extra time with Dee. We hadn't seen him for several years. Pal had to go and send him off today. I'll have to say, Dee looked very happy. He really enjoys working with Pal."

"They're birds of the same feather, that's for sure. Who would have thought we had raised such a spymaster."

"Dee has been invaluable to Pal. Because of Pal and Dee we've had all the time we needed to prepare. Pal had been sure we would be lucky to have a century before all humanity knew about us. Because of Dee and Pal rooting out possible sources and my daughters and myself being able to quiet them, we have had more than two centuries. Now, according to Pal, we're ready to negotiate a treaty with the humans that will provide for all the supernaturals safety."

Damon chuckled, "Negotiate is not exactly in the cards Elena. That's what this meeting is about to ensure the 'negotiations' go the way we want them."

Almost all of Elena's nine daughters and their husbands were there, only Marie was missing, she was too young, she had only recently taken the oath. A number of Elena's granddaughters, and their husbands were there as well. All present had taken the Blood Oath and had developed exceptional abilities for compelling. As each became stronger in her ability, Elena and Damon recruited her to help suppress any outbreak of information about vampires. Most of the time it simply required removal of some memories, but sometimes it had required dealing with a renegade vampire who either couldn't control his blood lust or had turned off his humanity and didn't care. Many of those cases they had called on Meredith to help and they were able to solve the problem by suppressing some aspects of the vampire's personality. Unfortunately, there were times when nothing could be done and the vampire had to be killed. This task fell to Damon most often, over Elena's objections. Dealing with renegade vampires was the most dangerous thing they had to do. It annoyed Elena that Damon kept volunteering for the task. Some aspects of Damon's personality would never change. Secretly Elena was terrified that Stefan would one day lose control and it would fall to Damon to deal with him.

When Elena and Damon walked into the meeting room, she noticed Pal the same instant Pal spotted her. He had been talking to Jenna but stopped in mid-sentence and called out to them "Damon, Elena, I'm glad you're here! Now we can get started!"

Damon watched with amusement how Pal's announcement affected everyone in the room. Elena accused Pal of wanting to make an entrance; talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Prior to their entrance the room was filled with laughing, joking and reminiscing. Over the years, the family had become spread out over the world. Some of them hadn't seen each other in decades. Time meant little to a vampire, but when the opportunity for a reunion occurred, they tended to make the most of it. However, the instant Elena and Damon had been announced, conversation ceased and all eyes fixed themselves on the couple, not actually the couple, but Elena. If there was vampire royalty, Elena was their queen, and he was the prince consort. He wouldn't have it any other way.

Elena acknowledged the attention with a small smile and an apology, "Pal, I am sorry to be late. It was my fault, I selfishly wanted a few extra moments with Dee, I haven't seen him for so long. Honestly, Pal, you could send him our way a little more often. I understand he and Anne Marie have urgent business in China? It seems that, if they are successful, China will be firmly on our side?"

Pal nodded, "That's right, and there really shouldn't be any issues with having that occur. That means we are on target for holding our convention this fall. Does anyone know of any potential upsets?"

Damon laughed, "Pal, we've got a virtual army of blood oath vampires keeping tabs on everybody who is anybody. If any issues come up, we'll resolve them."

Pal nodded, "I agree. We just have to decide that now is the time, where."

"There's something else we have to decide," spoke up Rose, Elena's second daughter. She was 221 years old.

"What's that Rose?" asked Pal, although he knew exactly what she was going to say, they had rehearsed earlier.

"We have to decide if this convention is really what we want to do."

Shocked, Elena asked "Why wouldn't we, Rose? We've been working towards this for two centuries. We really don't have a choice, we can't continue as we have been forever. If we don't act now, we'll be at war sooner or later."

"Not necessarily," Rose replied. "We're in position to do something entirely different that has never been a possibility before."

"What are you talking about?" asked Jake.

"We just take it all over," said Katherine calmly. (Katherine Salvatore had been born March 23, 2152. Obviously, she was named after Katherine Pierce who had passed away fifty years before. Katherine was 109 years old. Elena often teased her that naming her after Katherine Pierce had been a mistake. Elena claimed that Katherine felt an obligation to carry on the tradition and give Elena the most trouble she possible could. Damon was very aware that secretly Katherine was her favorite.) "For the first time in history we can unify all the vampires, witches, and werewolves under a single leader, a single leader who is immortal. We can do it and without a drop of blood spilt."

"I'm confused. Who is this leader that can unite these factions when they've never been united before?" asked Elena.

"You Mama. You can," replied Miranda. (Miranda had been named after Elena's adopted mother. Miranda was 165 years old.) "Everyone is waiting for you to say the word. Just say the word and we'll all follow you. You have over 1000 blood oath vampires alone who will pledge their lives for you."

"All of us are have a sire bond to you, Mama," Cassandra said. "Our daughters are bonded to us. The entire family is united behind you." (Cassandra was 137 years old.) With that kind of army, the Originals won't oppose us."

"Elijah will join you, I know because he's suggested it himself." Interjected Jenna, Elena's first daughter. "Klaus won't oppose you if you handle him right and you know you're the one who can handle Klaus. There is no way Rebekah will oppose, she may not like you, but she's not strong enough."

Rose stood up, "You see, the vampires are all united behind you. The Bennett witches are all on your side, they believe this is the purpose for establishing the Blood Oath in the first place. With the Bennett witches for us, the others will stand aside or join us. The werewolves will follow Klaus. With no opposition from the supernaturals, the humans won't have any say in the matter. Mama, just say the word, be our empress. It's what we want, it's what the world needs. With you, this world can enter a golden age never known before."

Stunned, Elena looked around at her family. They were all looking back at her eagerly, hoping she would take the crown they all believed she deserved. She looked at Pal. His expression gave nothing away, just the same enigmatic amused look he always seemed to possess.

Elena actually considered the possibility. She could see it, she could make it happen. She knew what would have to be done. Rose was right, it could only be her and it was there within her reach. She thrilled at the thought, the good she could do, the problems she could solve. She could create a golden age for the world. It was there for her to take.

She looked at Damon. What did he think? What did he want? She couldn't do it unless he thought it was right. They locked eyes and Damon cracked into a grin, "So Elena, are you up for being called the antichrist?"

Elena knew immediately what he was saying. Rose was wrong, the humans would have something to say, they would have a lot to say. They would say they would rather die, and they would, by the thousands, even the millions. It had been tried before and always the results were the same, rebellion, death, and destruction. Things would start well. She would be crowned empress of all, everyone would celebrate. In a few years, some group would rebel and it would be put down and people would die. A larger group would fight back and they would be put down and more would die. Each time, there would be bloodshed, each death would cause more to rebel, to fight back. How many of her family would die protecting her crown? The loss of one daughter, one son, would be too high a cost.

Calmly Elena smiled and shook her head. "I don't want anyone dying for me, I certainly don't want any of my children to do so, and I don't want you killing for me either. I don't owe the world anything, especially to be its empress. It will have to get along without me."

Pal chuckled, "Now that that's settled, where are we going to have our convention?"

"Mystic Falls, of course," replied Elena. "It's where it all began. It's where we are the strongest."

 **A/N – This is the first fiction I've ever written. Frankly, I am shocked at how consuming telling a story like this can be. I intend to use 'Elena Gilbert Finds Another Way' as the core for a number of different vampire stories, at least one will be rated M.**

 **I want to mention that the Ghost Mountain Boys and the Ghost Mountain Battalion and Rabaul POW camp are the real thing. Both are horrific events with incredible suffering. Over 90% of the battalion that left Port Moresby never came home. It is estimated that over 500 POWs resided at Rabaul and only 26 came home. Almost all died from experiments performed to test the effects of various tropical diseases and cures. No matter what kind of cruelty you can imagine a vampire performing, humanity has consistently created worse.**


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